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TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporatton 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  I4S80 

(716)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHIVI/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


V 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notea/Notat  tachniquaa  at  bibliographiquaa 


The  Inatituta  haa  attamptad  to  obtain  tha  baat 
original  copy  availabia  for  filming.  Faaturaa  of  thia 
copy  which  may  ba  bibliographically  uniqua, 
which  may  altar  any  of  tha  imagaa  in  tha 
raproduction,  or  which  may  aignificantly  change 
tha  uaual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


D 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Coloured  covera/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I     I   Covera  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagte 


Covera  reatored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  reataurte  et/ou  pelliculie 


□   Cover  title  miaaing/ 
La 


titre  de  couverture  manque 

loured  mepa/ 
Cartea  gAogrephiquea  en  couleur 

Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  then  blue 

Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  qw^  bleue  ou  noire) 


I     I   Coloured  mepa/ 

I     I   Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  then  blue  or  black)/ 


F~|   Coloured  platea  and/or  illuatrationa/ 


Planchea  et/ou  illuatrationa  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  meteriel/ 
ReliA  avac  d'autrea  documenta 

Tight  binding  may  cauae  ahadowa  or  diatortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  failure  aarrde  paut  cauaar  de  I'ombre  on  de  le 
diatortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intArieure 

Blenk  ieevea  added  during  reatoration  may 
appeer  within  the  text.  Whenever  poaaibia,  theae 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  ae  peut  que  certalnaa  pagea  blanchaa  ajoutAea 
lore  d'une  reatauration  apparaiaaent  dana  la  texte, 
maia.  loraqua  cela  Atait  poaaibia,  cea  pagea  n'ont 
pea  «t«  film«aa. 

Additionel  commenta:/ 
Crmmantairea  aupplAmantairaa; 


L'Inatitut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  e  4t6  poaaible  de  ae  procurer.  Lea  dAtaila 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  aont  paut-Atre  uniquea  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  imaqe  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dana  la  mAthode  normale  de  filmage 
aont  indiquAa  ci-deaaoua. 


I     I   Coloured  pagea/ 


D 
D 


Thia  item  ia  filmed  at  the  reduction  retio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  eat  filmA  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu*  ci-deaaoua. 


Pagea  de  couleur 

Pagea  damaged/ 
Pagea  andommagtea 

Pagea  reatored  and/oi 

Pagea  reataurAea  et/ou  pellicul6ea 

Pagea  diacoloured,  atainad  or  foxat 
Pagea  dAcoiortea,  tachattea  ou  piqutea 

Pagea  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachtes 

Showthrough> 
Tranaparence 

Quality  of  prir 

Qualiti  InAgala  de  I'impreaaion 

Includaa  aupplamentary  materii 
Comprend  du  materiel  supplAmentaire 


r~~|  Pagea  damaged/ 

I     I  Pagea  reatored  and/or  laminated/ 

r~7|  Pagea  diacoloured,  atainad  or  foxed/ 

I     I  Pages  detached/ 

r~~|  Showthrough/ 

I     I  Quality  of  print  variea/ 

I     I  Includaa  aupplamentary  materiel/ 


Only  edition  evailable/ 
Seule  Mition  diaponible 

Pagea  wholly  or  partially  obacured  by  errata 
alipa,  tissuea,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
enaura  the  best  poaaibia  image/ 
Lea  pagea  totalement  ou  pertiellement 
obacurciea  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc..  ont  At*  filmAea  A  nouveeu  de  fa9on  A 
obtenir  le  meilleure  image  poaaibia. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

asx 

30X 

y 

12X 

16X 

»x 

24X 

28X 

32X 

Th«  copy  filmed  h«r«  ha*  b««n  raproducad  thanks 
to  tha  ganarosity  of: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Tha  imagas  appaaring  hara  ara  tha  bast  quality 
possibia  considaring  tha  condition  and  lagibility 
of  tha  original  copy  and  in  kaaping  with  tha 
filming  contract  spacif ications. 


Original  copias  in  printad  papar  covers  ara  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printad  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printad  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  — ^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  V  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 

Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  meny  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


L'exemplaira  film*  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
gAnAt'Osit*  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Las  images  suivantes  ont  At*  reproduites  avac  la 
plus  grand  scin,  compta  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
da  la  nettet*  de  Texemplaira  film*,  et  en 
conformit*  avac  las  conditions  du  contrat  da 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprim*e  sont  film*s  en  commenpant 
par  la  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derni*re  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  la  second 
plat,  salon  la  cas.  Tous  las  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  film*s  en  commen^ant  par  la 
premi*re  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  derni*re  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
derni*re  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  -^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN  ". 

Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  *tre 
film*s  *  des  taux  de  r*duction  diff*rent8. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  *tre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  clich*.  il  est  film*  *  partir 
de  Tangle  8up*rieur  gauche,  de  gauche  *  droite. 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  n*cessaire.  Les  diagrammas  suivcnts 
illustrent  la  m*thode. 


1  2  3 


1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

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,! 


GOLDEN  ALASKA 


A  COMPLETE  ACCOUNT  TO   DATE 


OF  THE 


Yukon  Valley 


ITS  HISTORY,  GEOGRAPHY,  MINERAL  AND  OTHER 

RESOURCES,  OPPORTUNITIES  AND 

MEANS  OF  ACCESS 


BY 

Ernest  Ingersoll, 

y  (Pormtrfy  with  the  Hoyden  Survey  in  the  West) 

author  of 

'  Xnockino  'Round  the  Rockies  "  "  The  Crest  of  the  Continent," 

ETC.,  AND  General.  Editor  of  Rand,  McNally  & 

Ca's  "Guide  Books." 


-1  A  \ 

fi'H 


Chicago  and  New  York: 
RAND,  McNALLY  ft  COMPANY. 

1897. 


m^^a 


fL-- 


t 


4 


ALASKA. 


Bullion  $aft  Cold 
mining 

Companp 


CAPITAL..$I, 000,000 


Shares. . . $  i .  oo  each 
Full  Paid 
Non-Assessable 


Mines  on  the  Yukon. 

Mines  on  the  Blue  River. 

This  Company  owns  i6o  acres  of  Gold-bear- 
ing gravel  from  five  to  forty  feet  thick  con- 
tainmg  many  millions  of  value. 

A  limited  amount  of  the  full  paid,  non-assessable  shares 
will  be  sold  at  one  dollar  each. 

For  prospectus  and  particulars,  address, 

IV.  L.  Boyd  dk  Co.,  o  wall  street, 

t^NBW  YORK. 

Copyright,  1697,  by  Ra;.,;!,  WS^f  A  Co. 


Wf^m^mmmmm 


^»Pf"i"PPPIliP«WBP»"W""PW«pP*l»|W^?^BI|pWPWW"""»?"Wi"W»T'«i'^^ 


Mrs.  JJJUA  CORRIQAJV, 

Oigs -sand"  Tobacco 

LAUNDRY  OFFICE  ' 

21  3  Market  Street,  -  ST.  LOUIS,  MO. 

INTRODUCTION. 


10 


I 


ur- 
n- 

es 


To  make  "a  book  about  the  Klondike"  so  shortly 
after  that  word  first  burst  upon  the  ears  of  a  sur- 
prised world,  would  be  *^e  height  of  literary  impu- 
dence, considering  how  remote  and  incommunicado 
that  region  is,  were  it  not  that  the  public  is  intensely 
curious  to  know  whatever  can  be  said  authentically 
in  regard  to  it.  "The  Klondike,"  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, is,  in  reality,  a  very  limited  district — only  one 
small  river  valley  in  a  gold-bearing  territory  twice 
as  large  as  New  England;  and  it  came  into  promi- 
nence so  recently  that  there  is  really  little  to  tell 
in  respect  to  it  because  nothing  has  had  time  to 
happen  and  be  communicated  to  the  outside  world. 
But  in  its  neighborhood,  and  far  north  and  south 
of  it,  are  other  auriferous  rivers,  creeks  and  bars, 
and  mountains  filled  with  untried  quartz-ledges,  in 
respect  to  which  information  has  been  accumulat- 
ing for  some  years,  and  where  at  any  moment 
"strikes"  may  be  made  that  shall  equal  or  eclipse 
the  wealth  of  the  Klondike  placers.  It  is  possible, 
then,  to  give  here  much  valuable  information  in 


47031 


IV 


Golden  Alaska. 


regard  to  the  Yukon  District  generally,  and  this  the 
writer  has  attempted  to  do.  The  best  authority  for 
early  exploration  and  geography  is  the  monumen- 
tal work  of  Capt.  W.  H.  Dall,  "Alaska  and  its  Re- 
sources," whose  companion,  Frederick  Whymper, 
also  wrote  a  narrative  of  their  adventures.  The 
reports  of  the  United  States  Coast  Survey  in  that 
region,  of  the  exploration  of  the  Upper  Yukon  by 
Schwatka  and  Hayes  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  of  Nelson,  Turner  and  others  attached  to 
the  Weather  Service,  of  the  Governors  of  the  Terri- 
tory, of  Raymond,  Abercrombie,  Allen  and  other 
army  and  navy  officers  who  have  explored  the 
coast  country  and  reported  to  various  departments 
of  the  governuient,  and  of  several  individual  explor- 
ers, especially  the  late  E.  J.  Glave,  also  contain  facts 
of  importance  for  the  4>resent  compilation.  The 
most  satisfactory  sources  of  information  as  to  the 
geography,  routes  of  travel,  geology  and  mineral- 
ogy and  mining  development,  are  contained  in  the 
investigations  conducted  some  ten  years  ago  by  the 
Canadian  Geological  Survey,  under  the  leadership 
of  Dr.  G.  M.  Dawson  and  of  William  Ogilvie.  Of 
these  I  have  made  free  use,  and  wish  to  make  an 
equally  free  acknowledgment. 

It  will  thus  be  found  that  the  contents  of  this 
pamphlet  justified  even  the  hasty  publication  which 


doLDEN  Alaska. 


the  public  demands,  and  which  precludes  much  at- 
tention to  literary  form;  but  an  additional  claim  to 
attention  is  the  information  it  seeks  to  give  intend- 
ing travelers  to  that  far-away,  very  new  and  as 
yet  unfurnished  region,  how  to  go  and  what  to 
take,  and  what  are  the  conditions  and  emergencies 
which  they  must  prepare  to  meet.  Undoubtedly  the 
pioneers  to  the  Yukon  pictured  the  difHculties  of 
the  route  and  the  hardships  of  their  life  in  the  high- 
est colors,  both  to  add  to  their  self-glory  and  to  re- 
duce competition.  Moreover,  every  day  mitigates 
the  hardships  and  makes  easier  the  travel.  Never- 
theless, enough  difficulties,  dangers  and  chances  of 
failure  remain  to  make  the  going  to  Alaska  a  matter 
for  very  careful  forethougfit  on  the  part  of  every 
man.  To  help  him  weigh  the  odds  and  choose 
wisely  is  the  purpose  of  this  little  book. 


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GOLDEN  ALASKA. 


ROUTES  TO  THE  YUKON  GOLD-FIELDS. 


The  gold-fields  of  the  Yukon  Valley,  at  and  near 
Klondike  River,  are  near  the  eastern  boundary  of 
Alaska,  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  miles  up  from 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  from  five  to  eight  hun- 
dred miles  inland  by  the  route  across  the  country 
from  the  southern  Alaskan  coast.  In  each  case  an 
ocean  voyage  must  be  taken  as  the  first  step;  and 
steamers  may  be  taken  from  San  Francisco,  Port- 
land, Ore.,  Seattle,  Wash.,  or  from  Victoria,  B.  C. 

The  overland  routes  to  these  cities  require  a 
word. 

I.  To  San  Francisco.  This  city  is  reached  di- 
rectly by  half  a  dozen  routes  across  the  plains  and 
Pocky  Mountains,  of  which  the  Southern  Pacific, 
by  way  of  New  Orleans  and  El  Paso;  the  Atch.,  Top. 
&  Santa  F€  and  Atlantic  &  Pacific,  by  way  of 
Kansas  City,  and  across  northern  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona;  the  Burlington  and  Denver  &  Rio  Grande, 
by  way  of  Denver  and  Salt  Lake  City;  and  the 
Union  Pacific  and  Southern  Pacific,  by  way  of 


W!PWi'?"^'IW'i!i:^ii:.  '^'^^''^55^91^^^'^ilt^^i:- v^  ^' ■ 


'f'^'TrP^ 


8 


Golden  Alaska. 


Omaha,  Ogden  and  Sacramento,  are  the  principal 

ones. 

2.  To  Portland,  Oregon.  This  is  reached  directly 
by  the  Union  Pacific  and  Oregon  Short  Line,  via 
Omaha  and  Ogden;  and  by  the  Northern  Pacific, 
via  St.  Paul  and  Helena,  Montana. 

3.  To  Seattle,  Wash.  This  city,  Tacoma,  Port 
Townsend  and  other  ports  on  Puget  Sound,  are 
the  termini  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  and 
also  of  the  Great  Northern  Railroad  from  St.  Paul 
along  the  northern  boundary  of  the  United  States. 
The  Canadian  Pacific  will  also  take  passengers  there 
expeditiously  by  rail  or  boat  from  Vancouver,  B.  C. 

4.  To  Vancouver  and  Victoria,  B.  C.  Any  of 
the  routes  heretofore  mentioned  reach  Victoria  by 
adding  a  steamboat  journey;  but  the  direct  route, 
and  one  of  the  pleasantest  of  all  the  transcontinental 
routes,  is  by  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway  from 
Montreal  or  Chicago,  via  Winnipeg, ^Manitoba,  to 
the  coast  at  Vancouver,  whence  a  ferry  crosses  to 
Victoria. 

Regular  routes  of  transportation  to  Alaska  are 
supplied  by  the  Pacific  Coast  Steamship  Company, 
which  has  been  dispatching  mail  steamships  once  a 
fortnight  the  year  round  from  Tacoma  to  Sitka, 
which  touch  at  Juneau  and  all  other  ports  of  call. 
They  also  maintain  a  service  of  steamers  between 


Golden  Alaska. 


San  Francisco  and  Portland  and  Puget  Sound  ports. 
These  are  fitted  with  every  accommodation  and  lux- 
ury for  tourist  travel;  and  an  extra  steamer,  the 
Queen,  has  been  making  semi-monthly  trips  during 
June,  July  and  August.  These  steamers  would 
carry  250  passengers  comfortably  and  the  tourist 
fare  for  the  round  trip  has  been  $100. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  Navigation  Company  has 
been  sending  semi-monthly  steamers  direct  from 
Victoria  to  Port  Simpson  and  way  stations  the  year 
round.  They  are  fine  boats,  but  smaller  than  the 
others  and  are  permitted  to  land  only  at  Sitka  and 
Dyea. 

Such  are  the  means  of  regular  communication 
with  Alaskan  ports.  There  has  been  no  public  con- 
veyance north  of  Sitka,  except  twice  or  thrice  a 
year  in  summer  in  the  supply  steamers  of  the  Alas- 
kan commercial  companies,  which  "tailed  from  San 
Francisco  to  St.  Michael  and  there  transferred  to 
small  boats  up  the  Yukon. 

Whether  any  changes  will  be  made  in  these 
schedulers  for  the  season  of  1898  remains  to  be 
seen. 

Special  steamers. — As  the  regular  accommoda- 
tions were  found  totally  madequate  to  the  demand 
for  passage  to  Alaska  which  immediately  followed 
the  report  of  rich  discoveries  on  Klondike  Creek, 


pq^wjiii 


^^^■^^■^^w^ 


.''V!i;'pij)jr;-|,-iw.'.|' 


I. 


lO 


Golden  Alaska. 


extra  steamers  were  hastily  provided  by  the  old 
companies,  others  were  fitted  up  and  sent  out  by 
speculative  owners,  and  some  have  been  privately 
chartered.  A  score  or  more  steamships,  loaded  with 
passengers,  horses,  mules  and  burros  (donkeys)  to 
an  uncomfortable  degree,  were  thus  dispatched  from 
San  Francisco,  Puget  Sound  and  Victoria  between 

m 

the  middle  of  July  and  the  i  liddle  of  August.  An 
example  of  the  way  the  feverish  demand  for  trans- 
portation is  found  in  the  case  of  the  Willamette, 
a  collier,  which  was  cleaned  out  in  a  few  hours  and 
turned  into  an  extemporized  passenger  boat.  The 
whole  'tween  decks  space  was  filled  with  rough 
bunks,  wonderfully  close  together,  for  "first-class" 
passengers;  while  away  down  in  the  hold  second- 
class  arrangements  were  made  which  the  mind  shud- 
ders to  contemplate.  Yet  this  slave-ship  sort  of  a 
chance  was  eagerly  taken,  and  such  space  as  was 
left  was  crowded  with  animals  and  goods.  Many 
persons  and  parties  bought  or  chartered  private 
steamers,  until  the  supply  of  these  was  exhausted 
by  the  end  of  August. 
Two  routes  may  be  chosen  to  the  gold  fields: 

1.  By  way  of  the  Yukon  River.  This  is  all  the 
way  by  water,  and  means  neatly  4,500  miles  of  voy- 
aging. 

2.  By  way  of  the  new  ports  of  Dyea  or  Skagw^y, 


mmm 


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«#*- 


Golden  Alaska. 


13 


over  mountain  passes,  afoot  or  a-horseback,  and 
up  the  upper  Yukon  River,  navigating  the  lakes 
and  rivers  by  raft,  skiff  and  steamboat. 

To  describe  these  routes  is  the  next  task — ^first, 
that  by  way  of  St.  Michael;  and  second,  up  the 
Yukon  River. 

Route  via  St.  Michael  and  the  Yukon  River.— 
This  begins  by  a  sea-voyage,  which  may  be  direct 
or  along  the  coast.  The  special  steamers  (and  fu- 
ture voyages,  no  doubt)  usually  take  a  direct  course 
across  the  North  Pacific  and  through  the  Aleutian 
Islands  to  St.  Michael,  in  Norton  Sound,  a  bight  of 
Bering  Sea.  The  distance  from  San  Francisco  is 
given  as  2,850  miles;  from  Victoria  or  Seattle,  about 
2,200  miles.  The  inside  course  would  be  somewhat 
longer,  and  would  follow  the  route  next  to  be  de- 
scribed as  far  as  Juneau  and  Sitka,  then  strike  north- 
west along  the  coast  of  St.  Michael. 

This  town,  on  an  island  near  shore  in  Norton 
Sound,  was  established  in  1835  by  Lieut.  Michael 
Tebenkoff,  of  the  Russian  navy,  who  named  it  after 
his  patron  saint.  Though  some  distance  to  the 
north  of  the  Yukon  entrance,  St.  Michael  has  al- 
ways been  the  controlling  center  and  base  of  sup- 
plies for  the  great  valley.  The  North  American 
Trading  and  Transportation  Company  and  the  Alas- 
ka  Commercial  Company  have  their  large  ware- 


■PPUPP^^^^H" 


H 


Golden  Alaska. 


houses  here,  and  provide  the  miners  with  tools, 
clothing  and  provisions.  Recently  the  wharf  and 
warehouse  accommodations  have  been  extended, 
and  the  population  has  increased,  but  if,  as  is  prob- 
able, any  considerable  number  of  men  are  stopped 
there  this  fall  by  the  freezing  of  the  river,  and  com- 
pelled to  pass  the  winter  on  the  island,  they  will 
find  it  a  dreary,  if  not  dangerous,  experience. 

The  vessels  supplying  this  depot  can  seldom  ap- 
proach the  anchorage  of  St.  Michael  before  the  end 
of  June  on  account  of  large  bodies  of  drifting  ice 
that  beset  the  waters  of  Norton  Sound  and  the  straits 
between  St.  Lawrence  Island  and  the  Yukon  DeltJt 

A  temporary  landing-place  is  built  out  into  water 
deep  enough  for  loaded  boats  drawing  five  feet  to 
come  up  at  high  tide;  this  is  removed  when  winter 
approaches,  as  otherwise  it  would  be  destroyed  by 
ice.  The  shore  is  sandy  and  affords  a  moderately 
sloping  beach,  on  which  boats  may  be  drawn  up. 
A  few  feet  only  from  high  water  mark  are  perpen- 
dicular banks  from  six  to  ten  feet  high,  composed 
of  decayed  pumice  and  ashes,  covered  with  a  layer 
about  four  feet  thick  of  clay  and  vegetable  matter 
resembling  peat.  This  forms  a  nearly  even  meadow 
wiih  numerous  pools  of  water,  which  gradually  as- 
cends for  a  mile  or  so  to  a  low  hill,  of  volcanic  ori- 
ginr  known  as  the  Shaman  Mountain. 


Golden  Alaska. 


IS 


Between  the  point  on  which  St.  Michael  is  built 
and  the  mainland,  a  small  arm  of  the  sea  makes  in, 
in  which  three  fathoms  may  be  carried  until  the 
flagstaflF  of  the  fort  bears  west  by  north;  this  is  the 
best-protected  anchorage,  and  has  as  much  water 
and  as  good  bottom  as  can  be  found  much  farther 
out. 

The  excitement  of  the  summer  of  1897  caused  an 
enlargement  of  facilities  and  the  erection  of  addi- 
tional buildings,  forming  a  nucleus  of  trafHc  called 
Fort  Get  There.  Here  will  be  put  together  in  the 
autumn  or  winter  at  least  three,  and  perhaps  more, 
new  river  steamboats,  of  which  only  two  or  three 
have  been  running  on  the  lower  river  during  the 
last  two  or  three  years.  These  are  taken  up  in 
pieces  by  ships  and  fitted  together  at  this  point.  All 
are  flat-bottomed,  stem-wheeled,  powerfully  engined 
craft,  the  largest  able  to  carry  perhaps  250  tons, 
such  as  run  on  the  upper  Missouri,  and  they  will 
bum  wood,  the  cutting  and  stacking  of  which  on 
the  river  bank  will  fumish  work  to  many  men  dur- 
ing the  coming  winter.  To  such  steamers,  or  small- 
er boats,  all  the  persons  and  cargoes  must  be  trans- 
ferred at  St.  Michael. 

For  the  last  few  years  there  has  been  no  trader 
here  but  the  agent  of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Com- 
pany, and  a  story  is  told  of  the  building  of  a  river 


m^Kf 


■B,jjiiiwf»*iy"  >.»!>>»\ , 


i6 


Golden  Alaska. 


:i8f 


boat  there  in  1892,  which  illustrates  what  life  on 
the  Yukon  used  to  be.  In  that  year  a  Chicago  man, 
P.  B.  Weare,  resolved  to  enter  the  Alaskan  field  as 
a  trader.  He  chartered  a  schooner  and  placed  upon 
it  a  steamboat,  built  in  sections  and  needing  only  to 
be  put  together  and  have  its  machinery  set  up,  and 
for  this  purpose  h*  took  with  him  a  force  of  car- 
penters and  machinists.  On  reaching  St.  Michael 
Weare  was  refused  permission  to  land  his  boat  sec- 
tions on  the  land  of  the  Commercial  Company's 
post,  and  was  compelled  to  make  a  troublesome 
landing  on  the  open  beach,  where  he  began  opera- 
tions. Suddenly  his  ship  carpenters  stopped  work. 
They  had  been  offered,  it  was  said,  double  pay  by 
the  rival  concern  if  they  would  desist  from  all  work. 
Weare  turned  to  the  Indians,  but  with  the  same  ill- 
success.  The  Indians  were  looking  out  for  their 
winter  grub.  Here  was  the  Chicago  man  2,500 
miles  from  San  Francisco  and  only  two  weeks 
left  to  him  in  which  to  put  his  boat  together  and 
then  hope  for  a  chance  to  ascend  the  river  before 
winter  came  on.  There  was  no  time  in  which  to 
get  additional  men  from  San  Francisco.  In  the 
midst  of  his  trouble  Weare  one  day  espied  the  rev- 
nue  cutter  Bear  steaming  into  the  roadstead.  On 
board  of  her  was  Captain  Michael  A.  Healy.  That 
officer,  on  going  ashore  and  discovering  the  con- 


"MVipilliiiPPIiWBBHi 
■J 


mmmmmmmmmmi^ 


A  TEAM  OF  DOGS  AND  DOG  SLEDGES. 


^^^'''^T'7''''^P!WW!P?»W^'^fSR*?WPPr"^'^^ 


h 


111 


/. 


Golden  Alaska. 


19 


dition  of  affairs,  threatened  to  hang  every  carpenter 
and  mechanic  Weare  had  brought  up  if  they  failed 
to  immediately  commence  work.  The  men  went  to 
work,  and  with  them  went  a  gang  of  men  from  the 
Bear.  The  little  steamer  was  put  together  in  a  few 
days,  and  the  Bear  only  went  to  sea  after  seeing 
the  P.  B.  Weare  steaming  into  the  mouth  of  the 
Yukon. 

The  Weare  was  enabled  that  summer  to  land  her 
stores  along  the  Yukon,  and  was  the  only  vessel 
available  for  the  early  crowds  of  miners  going  to 
Klondike. 

The  mouth  of  the  Yukon  is  a  great  delta,  sur- 
rounded by  marsh  or  tundra — a  soaking  prairie  in 
summer,  a  plain  of  snow  and  ice  in  winter.  The 
shifting  bars  and  shallows  fan  out  from  this  delta 
far  into  Bering  Se?,  and  no  channel  has  yet  been 
discovered  whereby  an  ocean  steamer  could  enter 
any  of  the  mouths.  Fortunately  the  northernmost 
mouth  nearest  St.  Michael  and  65  miles  from  it  is 
navigable  for  the  light  river  steamers,  and  this  one, 
called  Aphodn,  and  marked  by  its  unusual  growth 
of  willows  and  bushes  is  well  known  to  the  local 
Russian  and  Indian  pilots.  It  is  narrow  and  intri- 
cate, and  the  general  course  uo  stream  is  south- 
southeast.  Streams  and  passages  enter  it,  and  it  has 
troublesome  tidal  currents.     The  whole  space  be- 


ipiPWPWfWf 


L'j  .'li'H*^.,  I'Vffr,-** 


20 


Golden  Alaska. 


tween  the  mouths  is  a  net-work,  indeed,  of  narrow 
channels,  through  the  marshes. 

Kutlik,  at  the  outlet  of  the  Aphoon,  on  Pastol 
Bay,  is  an  Indian  village,  long  celebrated  for  its  man- 
ufacture of  skin  boats  (bidars),  and  there  the  old- 
time  voyagers  were  accustomed  to  get  the  only 
night's  sleep  ashore  that  navigation  permits  between 
St.  Michael  and  Andreafski.  On  the  south  bank 
of  the  main  stream,  at  the  head  of  the  delta,  is  the 
Roman  Catholic  mission  of  Kuslivuk;  and  a  few 
miles  higher,  just  above  the  mouth  of  the  Andreaf- 
ski River,  is  the  abandoned  Russian  trading  post, 
Andreafski,  above  which  the  river  winds  past  Ikog- 
mut,  where  there  is  a  Greek  Catholic  mission.  The 
banks  of  the  river  are  much  wooded,  and  the  cur- 
rent even  as  far  down  as  Koserefski  averages  over 
three  knots  an  hour.  Above  Koserefski  (the  Cath- 
olic Mission  station),  the  course  is  along  stretches 
of  uninviting  country,  among  marshy  islands  and 
"sloughs,"  the  current  growing  more  and  more 
swift  on  the  long  reach  from  Anvik,  where  the  Epis- 
copal mission  is  situated,  to  Nulato. 

The  river  here  has  a  nearly  north  and  south 
course,  parallel  with  the  coast  of  Norton  Sound  and 
within  fifty  miles  or  so  of  it.  Two  portages  across 
here  form  cut-offs  in  constant  use  in  winter  by  the 
traders,  Indians  and  missionaries.    The  first  of  these 


y- 


1^:: 

'^K^ 
^k^^ 


mmm^ 


Golden  Alaska. 


mmm 


21 


m 


portages  starts  from  the  mainland  opposite  the  Isl- 
and of  St.  Michael,  and  passes  over  the  range  of  hills 
that  defines  the  shore  to  the  headwaters  of  the  An- 
vik  River.  This  journey  may  be  made  in  winter  by 
sledges  and  thence  down  the  Anvik  to  the  Yukon, 
but  it  is  a  hard  road.  Mr.  Nelson,  the  naturalist, 
and  a  fur  trader,  spent  two  months  from  November 
i6,  1890,  to  January  19,  1891,  in  reaching  the  Yu- 
kon by  this  path. 

The  other  portage  is  that  between  Unalaklik,  a 
Swedish  mission  station  at  the  mouth  of  the  Unalak- 
lik River,  some  fifty  miles  north  of  St.  Michael,  and 
a  stream  that  enters  the  Yukon  half  way  between 
Anvik  and  Nulato  Ir  going  from  St.  Michael  trf 
Unalaklik  there  are  few  points  at  which  a  boat  can 
land  even  in  the  smoothest  weather;  in  rough 
weat![ier  only  Major's  Cove  and  Kegiktoweuk  before 
rounding  Tolstoi  Point  to  Topanika,  where  there  is 
a  trading  post.  Topanika  is  some  ten  miles  from 
Unahklik,  with  a  high  shelving  beach,  behind  which 
rise  high  walls  of  sandstone  in  perpendicular  bluffs 
from  twenty  to  one  hundred  feet  in  height.  This 
beach  cundnues  all  the  way  to  the  Unalaklik  River, 
the  bluf¥  gradually  decreasing  into  a  marshy  plain  at 
the  river's  mouth,  which  is  obstructed  by  a  bar  over 
which  at  low  tide  there  are  only  a  few  feet  of  water 
except  in  a  narrow  and  tortuous  channel,  constantly 


22 


Golden  Alaska. 


changing  as  the  river  deposits  fresh  detritus.  Inside 
this  bar  there  are  two  or  three  fathoms  for  a  few 
miles,  but  the  channel  has  only  a  few  feet,  most  of 
the  summer,  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  to  Ulu- 
kuk. 

Trees  commence  along  the  Unalaklik  River  as 
soon  as  the  distance  from  the  coast  wmds  and  salt 
air  permits  them  to  grow  willow,  poplar,  birch  and 
spruce  being  those  most  frequently  found. 

The  Unalaklik  River  is  followed  upward  to  Ulu- 
kuk,  where  begins  a  sledging  portage  over  the 
marshes  to  the  Ulukuk  Hills,  where  there  is  a  na- 
tive village  known  as  Vesolia  Sopka,  or  Cheerful 
Peak,  at  an  altitude  of  eight  hundred  feet  above  the 
surrounding  plain.  This  is  a  well-known  trapping 
ground,  the  fox  and  marten  being  very  plentiful. 
From  Sopka  Vesolia  (Cheerful  Peak)  it  is  about 
one  day's  journey  to  Beaver  Lake,  which  is  only 
a  marshy  tundra  in  winter,  but  is  flooded  in  the 
spring  and  summer  months.  From  the  high  hills 
beyond  the  lake  one  may  catch  a  first  glimpse  of  the 
great  Yukon  sweeping  between  its  splendid  banks. 

The  natives  call  Nulato  emphatically  a  "hungry" 
place,  and  it  was  once  the  scene  of  an  atrocious  mas- 
sacre. Capt.  Dali,  from  whose  book  much  of  the 
information  regarding  this  part  of  Alaska  is  derived, 
describes  the  Indians  here  as  a  very  great  nuisance. 


OLD  RUSSIAN   BLOCK  HOUSE   AT   SITKA. 


fS,»*f      ,    VM   '    ,_     ITT.    .->^»-.i!p.^p^¥;r^>^^   fZ'W'y^'WK^' 


'-'  \s  1  ?'        .# 


-'t  T  "  ? 


mmmfF 


■i^^B)^  nwu'  "I,  '"'i^^^'i^^mifAi'ii'  fif'»'fVi''-^?'*"iT'i'*'iW""  ' 


Golden  Alaska. 


^5 


"They  had/'  he  explains,  "a  great  habit  of  coming 
in  and  sitting  down,  doing  and  saying  nothing,  but 
watching  everything.  At  meal  times  they  seemed 
to  count  and  weigh  every  morsel  we  ate,  and  were 
never  backward  in  assisting  to  dispose  of  the  re- 
mains of  the  meal.  Occasionally  we  would  get  des- 
perate and  clean  them  all  out,  but  they  would  drop 
in  again  and  we  could  do  nr'  .ing  but  resign  our- 
selves." 

The  soil  on  the  banks  of  the  Yukon  and  that  of 
the  islands  probably  never  thaws  far  below  the  sur- 
face. It  is  certain  that  no  living  roots  are  found  at 
a  greater  depth  than  three  feet.  The  soil,  in  layers 
that  seem  to  mark  annual  inundations,  consists  of 
a  stratum  of  sand  overlaid  by  mud  and  covered  with 
vegetable  matter,  the  layers  being  from  a  half  inch 
to  three  inches  in  thickness.  In  many  places  where 
the  bank  has  been  undermined  these  layers  may  be 
counted  by  the  hundred.  Low  bluffs  of  blue  sand- 
stone, with  here  and  there  a  high  gravel  bank,  char- 
acterize the  shores  as  far  as  Point  Sakataioutan,  and 
some  distance  above  this  point  begin  the  quartzose 
rocks. 

The  next  station  on  the  river  is  the  village  of  No- 
wikakat,  on  the  left  bank.  Here  may  be  obtained 
stores  of  dried  meat  and  fat  from  the  Indians.  The 
village  is  situated  upon  a  beautiful  bay,  or  Nowika- 


f!Pf^ 


26 


Golden  Alaska. 


/    HE 


kat  Harbor,  which  is  connected  by  a  narrow  en- 
trance with  the  Yukon.  "Through  this  a  beautiful 
view  is  obtained  across  the  river,  through  the  numer- 
ous islands  of  the  opposite  shore,  and  of  the  Yukon 
Mountains  in  the  distance.  The  feathery  willows 
and  light  poplars  bend  over  and  are  reflected  in  the 
dark  water,  unmixed  as  yet  with  Yukon  mud; 
every  island  and  hillside  is  clothed  in  the  delicate 
green  of  spring,  and  luxuriates  in  a  density  of  foli- 
age remarkable  in  such  a  latitude." 

Nowikakat  is  specially  noted  for  the  excellence  of 
its  canoes,  of  which  the  harbor  is  so  full  that  a  boat 
makes  its  landing  with  difficulty  among  them.  It  is 
the  only  safe  place  on  the  lower  Yukon  for  winter- 
ing a  steamer,  as  it  is  sheltered  from  the  freshets 
which  bring  down  great  crushes  of  ice  in  the  spring. 
At  Nuklukahyet  there  is  a  mission  of  the  Episco- 
pal church  and  a  trading  store,  but  there  may  or 
may  not  be  supplies  of  civilized  goods,  not  to  speak 
)f  moose  meat  and  fat.  This  is  the  neutral  ground 
vhere  all  the  tribes  meet  in  the  spring  to  trade. 
Ihe  Tananah,  which  flows  into  the  Yukon  at  this 
point,  is  much  broader  here  than  the  Yukon,  and 
it  is  here  that  Captain  Dall  exclaims  in  his  diary: 
"And  yet  into  this  noble  river  no  white  .man  has 
dipped  his  paddle."  Recently,  however,  the  Tana- 
nah has  been  more  or  less  explored  by  prospectors 


Golden  Alaska. 


27 


with  favorable  results  towards  the  head  of  the  river, 
which  is  more  easily  reached  overland  from  Circle 
City  and  the  Birch  Creek  camps. 

Leaving  Nuklukahyet,  the  "Ramparts"  are  soon 
sighted,  and  the  Yukon  rapids  sweep  between  bluffs 
and  hills  which  rise  about  fifteen  hundred  feet  above 
the  river,  which  is  not  more  than  half  a  mile  wide  and 
seems  almost  as  much  underground  as  a  river  bed 
in  a  canyon.  The  rocks  are  metamorphic  quartzites, 
and  the  river  bed  is  crossed  by  a  belt  of  granite. 
The  rapid  current  has  worn  the  granite  away  at 
either  side,  making  two  good  channels,  but  in  the 
center  lies  an  island  of  granite  over  which  the  water 
plunges  at  high  water,  the  fall  being  about  twelve 
feet  in  half  a  mile. 

Beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Tananah  the  Yukon 
begins  to  widen,  and  it  is  filled  with  small  islands. 
The  mountains  disappear,  and  just  beyond  them  me 
Totokakat,  or  Dall  River  of  Ketchum,  enters  the 
Yukon  from  the  north.  Beyond  this  point  the  river, 
ever  broadening,  passes  the  "Small  Houses,"  de- 
serted along  the  bank  at  the  time,  years  ago,  when 
the  scarlet  fever,  brought  by  a  trading  vessel  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Chilkat,  spread  to  the  Upper  Yukon 
and  depopulated  the  station.  This  place  is  noted 
for  the  abundance  of  its  game  and  fish. 

The  banks  of  the  river  above  this  point  become 


28 


Golden  Alaska, 


very  low  and  flat,  the  plain  stretching  almost  un- 
broken to  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

The  next  stream  which  empties  into  the  Yukon 
is  Beaver  Creek,  and  farther  on  the  prospector 
bound  for  Circle  City  may  make  his  way  some  two 
hundred  miles  up  Birch  Creek,  along  which  much 
gold  has  already  been  discovered,  to  a  portage  of 
six  miles,  which  will  carry  him  within  six  miles  of 
Circle  City  on  the  west. 

Meanwhile  the  Yukon  passes  Porcupine  River  and 
Fort  Yukon,  the  old  trading-post  founded  in  1846-7 
about  a  mile  farther  up  the  river  than  the  present 
fort  is  situated.  The  situation  was  changed  in  1864, 
owing  to  the  undermining  of  the  Yukon,  which 
yearly  washed  away  a  portion  of  the  steep  bank  un- 
til the  foundation  timbers  of  the  old  Redoubt  over- 
hung the  flood. 

Many  small  islands  encumber  the  river  from  Fort 
Yukon  to  Circle  City,  and  the  river  flows  along  the 
rich  lowland  to  the  towns  and  mining  centers  of  the 
new  El  Dorado,  an  account  of  which  belongs  to 
a  future  chapter. 

This  voyage  can  be  made  only  between  the  middle 
of  June  and  the  middle  of  September,  and  requires 
about  forty  days,  at  best,  from  San  Francisco  to  Cir- 
cle City  or  Forty  Mile. 

Route  via  Juneau,  the  Passes  and  down  the  Up- 


I" 


% 


' 


\ 


WWIAN  TOTEM  POLE,  FORT  SIMPSON. 


J 


^pww^!w»p|iij!!|»»aj<,!>j*",.'t!i'»',    ■■      > 


I 


Golden  Alaska. 


31 


I- 


per  Yukon  River. — The  second  and  more  usual,  be- 
.cause  shorter  and  quicker,  course  is  that  to  the 
head  of  Lynn  Canal  (Taiya  Inlet)  and  overland. 
This  coast  voyage  may  be  said  to  begin  at  Victoria, 
B.  C.  (since  all  coast  steamers  gather  and  stop 
there),  where  a  large  number  of  persons  prefer  to 
buy  their  outfits,  since  by  so  doing,  and  obtaining 
a  certificate  of  the  fact,  they  avoid  the  customs  du- 
ties exacted  at  the  boundary  line  on  all  goods  and 
equipments  brought  from  the  United  States.  Victo- 
ria is  well  supplied  with  stores,  and  is,  besides,  one 
of  the  most  interesting  towns  on  the  Pacific  coast. 
The  loveliest  place  in  the  whole  neighborhood  is 
Beacon  Hill  Park,  and  is  well  worth  a  visit  by  those 
who  find  an  hour  or  two  on  their  hands  before  the 
departure  of  the  steamer.  It  forms  a  half-natural, 
half-cultivated  area  on  the  shore  of  the  Straits  of 
Fuca,  where  coppices  of  the  beautiful  live  oak  and 
many  strange  trees  and  >shrubs  mingle  with  the  all- 
pervading  evergreens. 

Within  three  miles  of  the  city,  and  reached  by 
street  cars,  is  the  principal  station  in  the  North  Pa- 
cific of  the  British  navy,  at  Esquimault  Bay,  This 
is  one  of  the  most  picturesque  harbors  in  the  world, 
and  a  beginning  is  made  of  fortifications  upon  a  very 
large  scale  and  of  the  most  modem  character.  This 
station,  in  many  respects,  is  the  most  interest- 


""S^ffw^' 


3a 


GoLDLN  Alaska. 


ing   place   on   the    Pacific   coast   of   Canada. 

Leaving  Victoria,  the  steamer  makes  its  way  cau- 
tiously through  the  sinuous  channels  of  the  harbor 
into  the  waters  of  Fuca  Strait,  but  this  is  soon  left 
behind  and  the  steamer  turns  this  way  and  that,  at 
the  entrance  to  the  Gulf  of  Georgia,  among  those 
islands  through  which  runs  the  international,  boun- 
dary line,  and  for  the  possession  of  which  England 
and  the  United  States  nearly  went  to  war  in  1862. 
The  water  at  first  is  pale  and  somewhat  opaque,  for 
it  is  the  current  of  the  great  Fraser  gliding  far  out 
upon  the  surface,  and  the  steamer  passes  on  beyond 
it  into  the  darker,  clearer,  saltier  waters  of  the  gulf. 
Then  the  prow  is  headed  to  Vancouver,  where  the 
mails,  freight  and  new  railway  passenger-  are  re- 
ceived. 

From  Vancouver  the  steamer  crosses  to  Nanaimo, 
a  large  settlement  on  Vancouver  Island,  where  coal 
mines  of  great  importance  exist.  A  railway  now 
connects  this  point  with  Victoria,  and  a  wagon  road 
crosses  the  interior  of  the  island  to  Alberni  Canal 
and  the  seaport  at  its  entrance  on  Barclay  Sound. 
This  is  the  farthest  northern  telegraph  point.  The 
mines  at  Nanaimo  were  exhausted  some  time  ago, 
after  which  deep  excavations  were  made  on  New- 
castle Island,  just  opposite  the  town.  But  after  a 
tremendous  fire  these  also  were  abandoned,  and  all 


Golden  Alaska. 


33 


the  workings  are  now  on  the  shores  of  Departure 
Bay,  where  a  colliery  village  named  Wellington  has 
been  built  up.  A  steam  ferry  connects  Nanaimo 
with  Wellington :  and  while  the  steamer  takes  in  its 
coal,  the  passengers  disperse  in  one  or  the  other  vil- 
lage, go  trout  fishing,  shooting  or  botanizing  in  the 
neighboring  woods,  or  trade  and  chaffer  with  the 
Indians.  Nanaimo  has  anything  but  the  appear- 
ance of  a  mining  town.  The  houses  do  not  stretch 
out  in  the  squalid,  soot-covered  rows  familiar  to 
Pennsylvania,  but  are  scattered  picturesquely,  and 
surrounded  by  gardens. 

Just  ahead  lie  the  splendid  hills  of  Texada  Island, 
whose  iron  mines  yield  ore  of  extraordinary  purity, 
which  is  largely  shipped  to  the  United  States  to  be 
made  into  steel.  The  steamer  keeps  to  the  left,  mak- 
ing its  way  through  Bayne's  Sound,  passing  Cape 
Lazaro  on  the  left  and  the  upper  end  of  Texada  on 
the  right,  across  the  broadening  water  along  the 
Vancouver  shore  into  Seymour  Narrows.  These 
narrows  are  only  about  900  yards  wide,  and  in  them 
there  is  an  incessant  turmoil  and  bubbling  of  cur- 
rents. This  is  caused  by  the  collision  of  the  streams 
which  takes  place  here;  the  flood  stream  from  the 
south  through  the  Strait  of  Fuca  and  up  the  Haro 
Archipelago  being  met  by  that  from  Queen  Char- 
lotte Sound  and  Johnstone  straits.    These  straits  are 


34 


Golden  Alaska. 


about  140  miles  long,  and  by  the  time  their  full 
length  is  passed,  and  the  maze  of  small  islands 
on  the  right  and  Vancouver's  bulwark  on  the  left 
are  escaped  together,  the  open  Pacific  shows  itself 
for  an  hour  or  two  in  the  ofifing  of  Queen  Charlotte's 
Sound,  and  the  steamer  rises  and  falls  gently  upon 
long,  lazy  rollers  that  have  swept  all  the  way  from 
China  and  Polynesia.  Otherwise  the  whole  voyage 
is  in  sheltered  waters,  and  seasickness  is  impossible. 
The  steamer's  course  now  hugs  the  shore,  turning 
into  Fitz  Hugh  Sound,  among  Calvert,  Hunter's 
and  Bardswell  islands,  where  the  ship's  spars  some- 
times brush  the  overhanging  trees.  Here  are  the 
entrances  to  Burke  Channel  and  Dean's  Canal  that 
penetrate  far  amid  the  tremendous  cliffs  of  the  main- 
land mountains.  Beyond  these  the  steamer  dashes 
across  the  open  bight  of  Milbank  Sound  only  to  en- 
ter the  long  passages'  behind  Princess  Royal,  Pitt 
and  Packer  Islands,  and  come  out  at  last  into 
Dixon  Sound  at  the  extremity  of  British  Columbia's 
ragged  coast  line. 

The  fogs  which  prevail  here  are  due  to  the  fact 
that  this  bight  is  filled  with  the  waters  of  the  w:.rm 
Japanese  current — the  gulf  stream  of  the  Pacific — 
from  which  the  warm  moisture  rises  to  be  condensed 
by  the  cool  air  that  descends  from  the  neighboring 
mountains    into   the   dense   fogs   and   heavy    rain 


,-;•,. I  "'"wi^A*i,isipii,»<jvj!iRiwiiP!iB<i"?iiH"iiL|yi,,fuii»i(||ip     ..II-     i*^p^npii)ppf*ipiip|||p|iMM| 


*^/«*^:. 


mm 


iHHI 


Golden  Alaska. 


37 


storms  to  which  the  littoral  forect  owes  its  extra- 
ordinary luxuriance.  During  the  midsummer  and 
early  autumn,  however,  the  temperature  of  air  and 

ater  becomes  so  nearly  equable  that  fog  and  rain 
are  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule. 

Crossing  the  invisible  boundary  into  Alaska  the 
steamer  heads  straight  toward  Fort  Tongass,  on 
Wales  Island,  once  a  military  station  of  the  United 
States,  but  now  only  a  fishing  place.  Between  this 
point  and  Fort  Wrangle,  another  band  of  military 
post  of  the  United  States,  two  or  three  fish  canneries 
bml  trading  stations  are  visited  and  the  ship  goes  on 
ar;ong  innumerable  islands  and  along  wide  reaches 
'A  ioand  to  Taku  Inlet  (which  deeply  indents  the 
c''<\}it.,  and  is  likely  in  the  near  future  to  become  an 
inip^itant  route  to  the  gold  fields),  and  a  few  hours 
later  Juneau  City  is  reached. 

Juneau  City  has  been  lately  called  the  key  to  the 
Klondike  regions,  as  it  is  the  point  of  departure  for 
the  numberless  gold  hunters  who,  when  the  season 
opens  again,  will  rush  blindly  over  incalculably  rich 
ledges  near  the  coast  to  that  remote  inland  El  Do- 
rado of  their  dreams. 

Juneau  has  for  seventeen  years  been  supported  by 
the  gold  mines  of  the  neighboring  coast.  It  is  situ- 
ated ten  miles  above  the  entrance  of  Gastineau  Chan- 
nel, and  lies  at  the  base  of  precipitous  mountains, 


38 


Golden  Alaska. 


its  court  house,  hotels,  churches,  schools,  hospital 
and  opera  house  forming  ihc  nucleus  for  a  popula- 
tion which  in  1893  aggrega.  ,500,  a  number  very 
largely  increased  each  winter  by  the  miners  who 
gather  in  from  distant  camps.  The  saloons,  of  which 
in  1 87 1  there  were "  already  twenty-two,  have  in- 
creased proportionately,  and  there  are,  further,  at 
least  one  weekly  newspaper,  one  volunteer  fire  bri- 
gade, a  militia  company  and  a  brass  band  in  Juneau. 
The  curio  shops  on  Front  and  Seward  streets  are  well 
worth  visiting,  and  from  the  top  of  Seward  Street  a 
path  leads  up  to  the  Auk  village,  whose  people 
claim  the  flats  at  the  mouth  of  Gold  Creek.  A  curi- 
ous cemetery  may  be  seen  on  the  high  ground. 


FROM  JUNEAU  TO  THE  GOLD  FIELDS. 


The  few  persons  who  formerly  wished  to  go  to 
the  head  of  Lynn  Cana^  did  so  mainly  by  canoeing, 
or  chartered  launches,  but  now  many  opportunities 
are  offered  by  large  steamboats.  Most  of  the  steam- 
ers that  bring  miners  and  prospectors  from  below 
do  not  now  discharge  their  freight  at  Juneau,  how- 
ever, but  go  straight  to  the  new  port  Dyea  at  the 
head  of  the  canal.  Lynn  Canal  is  the  grandest  fiord 
on  the  coast,  which  it  penetrates  foi  seventy-five 


Golden  Alaska. 


39 


miles.  It  is  then  divided  by  a  long  peninsula  called 
Seduction  Point,  into  two  prongs,  the  western  of 
which  is  called  Chilkat  Inlet,  and  the  eastern  Chil- 
koot.  "It  has  but  few  indentations,  and  the  abrupt 
palisades  of  the  mainland  shores  present  an  unri- 
valled panorama  of  mountains,  glaciers  and  forests, 
with  wonderful  cloud  effects.  Depths  of  430  fath- 
oms have  been  sounded  in  the  canal,  and  the  conti- 
nental range  on  the  east  and  the  White  Mountains 
on  the  west  rise  to  average  heights  of  6,000  feet, 
with  glaciers  in  every  ravine  and  alcove."  The  Cam- 
eron boundary  line,  which  Canada  would  like  to  es- 
tablish, would  cut  this  fiord  in  two,  and  make  it  use- 
less to  both  countries  in  case  of  quarrel.  The  mag- 
nificent fan-shaped  Davidson  glacier  here  is  only 
one  among  hundreds  of  grand  ice  rivers  shedding 
their  bergs  into  its  waters.  At  various  points  sal- 
mon canneries  have  long  been  in  operation ;  and  the 
Seward  City  mines  are  only  the  best  among  several 
mineral  locations  of  promise.  A  glance  at  the  map 
will  show  that  this  "canal"  forms  a  straight  continu- 
ation of  Chatham  Strait,  making  a  north  and  south 
passage  nearly  four  hundred  miles  in  length,  which 
is  undoubtedly  the  trough  of  a  departed  glacier. 

Dyea,  the  new  steamer  landing  and  sub-port  of 
entry,  is  at  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Chilkoot 
or  eastern  branch  of  this  Lynn  Canal,  and  takes  its 


40 


Golden  Alaska. 


name,  in  bad  modem  spelling,  from  the  long-known 
Taiya  Inlet,  which  is  a  prolongation  inland  for 
twenty  miles  of  the  head  of  the  Chilkoot  Inlet.  It 
should  continue  to  be  spelled  Taiya.  This  inlet  is 
far  the  better  of  the  two  for  shipping,  Chilkat  Inlet 
being  exposed  to  the  prevalent  and  often  dangerous 
south  wind,  so  that  it  is  regarded  by  navigators  as 
one  of  the  most  dangerous  points  on  the  Alaskan 
coast.  A  Presbyterian  mission  and  ^^overnment 
school  were  formerly  sustained  at  Haines,  on  Seduc- 
tion Point,  but  were  abandoned  some  years  ago  on 
account  of  Indian  hostility. 

The  Passes. — ^Three  passes  over  the  mountains 
are  reached  from  these  two  inlets — Chilkat,  Chil- 
koot and  White. 

Chilkat  Pass  is  that  longest  known  and  formerly 
most  in  vogue.  The  Chilkat  Indians  had  several 
fixed  villages  near  the  head  of  the  inlet,  and, were 
accustomed  to  go  back  and  forth  over  the  moun- 
tains to  trade  with  the  interior  Indians,  whom  they 
would  not  allow  to  come  to  the  coast.  They  thus 
enjoyed  not  only  the  monopoly  of  the  business  of 
carrying  supplies  over  to  the  Yukon  trading  posts 
and  bringing  out  the  furs,  and  more  recently  of  as- 
sisting the  miners,  but  made  huge  profits  as  middle- 
men between  the  Indians  of  the  interior  and  the 
trading  posts  on  the  coast.    They  are  a  sturdy  race 


A 


Golden  Alaska. 


43 


of  mountaineers,  and  the  most  arrogant,  treacherous 
and  turbulent  of  all  the  northwestern  tribes,  but 
their  day  is  nearly  passed.  The  early  explorers — 
Krause,  Everette  and  others — ^took  this  pass,  and 
it  was  here  that  E.  J.  Glave  first  tried  (in  1891)  to 
take  pack  horses  across  the  mountains,  and  suc- 
ceeded so  well  as  to  show  the  feasibility  of  that 
method  of  carriage,  which  put  a  check  upon  the 
extortion  and  faithlessness  of  the  Indian  carriers. 
His  account  of  his  adventures  in  making  this  experi- 
ment, over  bogs,  wild  rocky  heights,  snow  fields, 
swift  rivers  and  forest  barriers,  has  been  detailed  in 
The  Century  Magazine  for  1892,  and  should  be  read 
by  all  interested.  "No  matter  how  important  your 
mission,"  Mr.  Glave  wrote,  "your  Indian  carriers, 
though  they  have  duly  contracted  to  accompany 
you,  will  delay  your  departure  till  it  suits  their  con- 
venience, and  any  exhibition  of  impatience  on  your 
part  will  only  remind  them  of  your  utter  depen- 
dency on  them;  and  then  intrigue  for  increase  of 
pay  will  at  once  begin.  While  en  route  they  will 
prolong  the  journey  by  camping  on  the  trail  for  two 
or  three  weeks,  tempted  by  good  hunting  or  fishing. 
In  a  land  where  the  open  season  is  so  short,  and 
the  ways  are  so  long,  such  delay  is  a  tremendous 
drawback.  Often  the  Indians  will  carry  their  loads 
some  part  of  the  way  agreed  on,  then  demand  an 


WfS^ 


ll|iPJipil|JJii!Wl>.«!Pf!l|pil,t 


iNIPj|lUPippHPpi!iqpi|^^8ppppi9||n^ 


i.wpij'.miMi ' 


44 


Golden  Alaska. 


extravagant  increase  of  pay  or  a  goodly  share  of  the 
white  man's  stores,  and,  failing  to  get  either,  will 
fling  down  their  packs  and  return  to  their  village, 
leaving  their  white  employer  helplessly  stranded." 

The  usual  charge  for  Indian  carriers  is  $2  a  day 
and  board,  and  they  demand  tJie  best  fare  and  a 
great  deal  of  it,  so  that  the  white  man  finds  his  pre- 
cious stores  largely  wasted  before  reaching  his  des- 
tination. These  facts  are  mentioned,  not  because  it  is 
now  necessary  to  endure  this  extortion  and  expense, 
but  to  show  how  little  dependence  can  be  placed 
upon  the  hope  of  securing  the  aid  of  Indian  packers 
in  carrying  the  goods  of  prospectors  or  explorers 
elsewhere  in  the  interior,  and  the  great  expens?  in- 
volved. This  pass  descends  to  a  series  of  connected 
lakes  leading  down  to  Lake  Labarge  and  thence  by 
another  stream  to  the  Lewes ;  and  it  requires  twelve 
days  of  pack-carrying — ^far  more  than  is  necessary 
on  the  other  passes.  As  a  consequence,  this  pass  is 
now  rarely  used  except  by  Indians  going  to  the  Ak- 
sekh  river  and  the  coast  ranges  northward. 

Chilkoot,  Taiya  or  Parrier  Pass. — ^This  is  the 
pass  that  has  been  used  since  1885  by  the  min- 
ers and  others  on  the  upper  Yukon,  and  is  still 
a  route  of  travel.  It  starts  from  the  head  of 
canoe  navigation  on  Taiya  inlet,  and  follows  up  a 
stream  valley,  gradually  leading  to  the  divide,  which 


'"(PPfllKMtl 


■M««pPV«n«p 


Golden  Alaska. 


45 


is  gnly  3,500  feet  above  the  sea.  The  first  day's 
march  is  to  the  foot  of  the  ascent,  and  over  a  terrible 
trail,  through  heavy  woods  and  along  a  steep,  rocky 
and  often  boggy  hillside,  broken  by  several  c'eep 
gullies.  The  ascent  is  then  very  abrupt  and  over 
huge  masses  of  fallen  rock  or  steep,  slippery  surfaces 
of  rock  in  place.  At  the  actual  summit,  which  for 
seven  or  eight  miles  is  bare  of  trees  or  bushes,  the 
trail  leads  through  a  narrow  rocky  gap,  and  the 
whole  scene  is  one  of  the  most  complete  desolation, 
naked  granite  rocks  rising  steeply  to  partly  snow- 
clad  mountains  on  either  side.  Descending  the  in- 
land or  north  slope  is  equally  bad  traveling,  largely 
over  wide  areas  of  shattered  rocks  where  the  trail 
may  easily  be  lost.  The  further  valley  contains  sev- 
eral little  lakes  and  leads  roughly  down  to  Lake 
Lindeman.  The  distance  from  Taiya  is  twenty-three 
and  a  half  miles,  and  it  is  usually  made  in  two  day;^. 
Miners  sometimes  cross  this  pass  in  April,  choos- 
ing fine  weather,  and  then  continue  down  the  lakes 
on  the  ice  to  some  point  where  they  can  conveni- 
ently camp  and  wait  for  the  opening  of  navigation 
on  the  Yukon;  ordinarily  it  is  unsafe  to  attempt  a 
return  in  the  autumn  later  than  the  first  of  October. 
Lake  Lindeman  is  a  long,  narrow  piece  of  water 
navigable  for  boats  to  its  foot,  where  a  very  bad  river 
passage  leads  into  the  larger  Lake  Bennett,  where 


46 


Golden  Alaska. 


the  navigation  of  the  Yukon  really  begins. 
"The  Chilkoot  Pass,"  writes  one  of  its  latest  trav- 
elers, "is  difficult,  even  dangerous,  to  those  not  pos- 
sessed of  steady  nerves.  Toward  the  summit  there  is 
a  sheer  ascent  of  i,ooo  feet,  where  a  slip  would  cer- 
tainly be  fatal.  At  this  point  a  dense  mist  overtook 
us,  but  we  reached  Lake  Lindeman — the  first  of  a 
series  of  five  lakes — in  safety,  after  a  fatiguing  tramp 
of  fourteen  consecutive  hours  through  half-melted 
snow.  Here  we  had  to  bui]«1  our  own  boat,  first 
felling  the  timber  for  the  purpose.  The  journey 
down  the  hkes  occupied  ten  days,  four  of  which 
were  passed  in  camp  on  Lake  Bennett,  during  a  vio- 
lent storm,  which  raised  a  heavy  sea.  The  rapids 
followed.  One  of  these  latter,  the  'Grand  Canyon/ 
is  a  mile  long,  and  dashes  through  walls  of  rock 
from  50  to  100  feet  high;  six  miles  below  are  the 
'White  Horse  Papids,*  a  name  which  many  fatal 
accidents  have  converted  into  the  'Miner's  Grave.' 
But  snags  and  rocks  are  everywhere  a  fruitful  source 
of  danger  on  this  river,  and  from  this  rapid  down- 
ward scarcely  a  day  passed  that  one  did  not  see  some 
cairn  or  wooden  cross  marking  the  last  resting  place 
of  some  drowned  pilgrim  to  the  land  of  gold.  The 
above  is  a  brief  sketch  of  the  troubles  that  beset  the 
Alaskan  gold  prospector — ^troubles  that,  although 
unknown  in  the  eastern  states  and  Canada,  have  for 


. 


mmm 


GENERAL  VIEW  OF  SILVER  80VI^  BASIN,  NEAR  JUNEAU. 


ppl 


liPPiipillP^iiWflBflpwpppiflRiPiP 


•i^rim^^ifmyj  ipiii  u,iiijn(npi.ii  f  n>iip|p(wii»5inwip 


mpw^B^p^mwwf^w" 


f^f^fr^^'^'^^'^^y^^T^^ 


-^^•^^Kja!.' 


Golden  Alaska. 


49 


many  years  past  associated  the  name  of  Yukon  with 
an  ugly  sound  in  western  America." 

It  is  probable  that  few  if  any  persons  need  go  over 
this  pass  next  year,  and  its  hardships  will  become  a 
tradition  instead  of  a  terrible  prospect. 

White  Pass. — ^This  pass  lies  south  of  the  Chil- 
•  koot,  and  leaves  the  coast  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Skagway  river,  five  miles  south  of  Dyea  and  lOO 
from  Juneau.  It  was  first  explored  in  1887  and  was 
found  to  run  parallel  to  the  Chilkoot.  The  distance 
from  the  coast  to  the  summit  is  seventeen  miles,  of 
which  the  first  five  are  in  level  bottom  land,  thickly 
timbered.  The  next  nine  miles  are  in  a  cafion-like 
valley,  beyond  which  three  miles,  comparatively 
easy,  take  one  to  the  summit,  the  altitude  of  which 
is  roughly  estimated  at  2,600  feet.  Beyond  the  sum- 
mit a  wide  valley  is  entered  and  leads  i,  radually  to 
the  Tahko  arm  of  Tagish  Lake.  This  pass,  though 
requiring  a  longer  carriage,  is  lower  and  easier  than 
the  others,  and  already  a  pack-trail  has  been  built 
through  it  which  will  soon  be  followed  by  a  wagon 
road,  and  surveys  for  a  narrow  gauge  railway  are 
in  progress.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Skagway  River 
ocean  stean^ers  can  run  up  at  all  times  to  a  wharf 
which  has  been  constructed  in  a  sheltered  position, 
and  there  is  an  excellent  town  site  with  protection 
from  storms. 


■iff 


50 


Golden  Alaska. 


An  English  company,  the  British  Coljimbia  De- 
velopment Association,  Limited,  has  already  estab- 
lished a  landing  wharf  and  is  erecting  a  wharf  and 
sawmills  at  Skagway,  whence  it  is  proposed  (as  soon 
as  feasible)  to  lay  down  a  line  of  rail  some  thirty- 
five  miles  long,  striking  the  Yukon  River  at  a  branch 
of  Marsh  Lake,  about  100  miles  below  Lake  Lin- 
deman.  By  this  m^ans  the  tedious  and  difficult 
navigation  between  these  two  points  will  be  avoided, 
and  the  only  dangerous  parts  of  the  river  below  will 
be  circumvented  by  a  road  or  rail  portage.  Light- 
draught  steamers  will  be  put  on  from  Teslin  Lake  to 
the  cafion  and  from  the  foot  of  the  latter  to  all  the 
towns  and  camps  on  the  river. 

Dyca  is  a  village  of  cabins  and  tents,  and  little  if 
anything  in  the  way  of  supplies  can  be  got  there; 
it  is  a  mere  forwarding  point. 

Pending  the  completion  of  the  facilities  mentioned 
above,  miners  may  transport  their  goods  over  the 
^ack  trail  on  their  own  or  hired  burros,  and  at  Ta- 
gish  Lake  take  aboat  down  the  Tahko  arm  (11  miles) 
to  the  main  lake,  and  down  that  lake  and  its  outlet 
into  Lake  Marsh.  This  chain  of  lakes,  filling  the 
troughs  of  old  glacial  fiords  to  a  level  of  2,150  ^eet 
above  the  sea,  "constitutes  a  singularly  picturesque 
region,  abounding  in  striking  points  of  view  and  in 
landscapes  pleasing  in  their  variety  or  grand  and  im- 


ilRPiPPIiPiPP< 


■•WWP 


Golden  Alaska. 


SI 


pressive  in  this  combination  of  rugged  mountain 
forms."  All  afford  still-water  navigation,  and  as  soon 
as  the  road  through  White  Pass  permits  the  trans- 
portation of  machinery,  they  will  doubtless  be  well 
supplied  with  steamboats.  Marsh  Lake  is  20  miles 
long,  Bennett  26,  and  Tagish  16^  miles,  with  Windy 
Arm  1 1  miles  long,  Tahko  Arm  20  miles,  and  other 
long,  narrow  extensions  among  the  terraced,  ever- 
green-wooded hills  that  border  its  tranquil  surface. 
The  depression  in  which  this  group  of  lakes  lies  is 
between  the  coast  range  and  the  m  range  of  the 
Rockies;  and  as  it  is  sheltered  from  the  wet  sea- 
winds  by  the  former  heights,  its  climate  is  nearly  as 
dry  as  that  of  the  interior.  The  banks  are  fairly  well 
timbered,  though  large  open  spaces  exist,  "nd 
abound  in  herbage,  grass  and  edible  berries.  Lake 
Marsh,  named  by  Schwatka  after  Prof.  O.  C.  Marsh 
of  Yale,  but  called  Mud  Lake  by  the  miners,  without 
good  reason,  is  twenty  miles  long  and  about  two 
wide.  It  is  rather  shallow  and  the  left  bank  should 
be  followed.  The  surrounding  region  is  rather  low, 
rising  by  terraces  to  high  ranges  on  each  side,  where 
Michie  mountain,  5,540  feet  in  height,  eastward,  and 
Mounts  Lome  and  Landsdowne,  westward,  6,400 
and  6,140  feet  high  respectively,  are  the  most  prom- 
inent peai's.  "The  diversified  forms  of  the  moun- 
tains in  view  from  this  lake  render  it  particularly 


52 


Golden  Alaska. 


picturesque,"  remarks  Dr.  Dawson,  "and  at  the  time 
of  our  visit,  on  the  loth  and  nth  of  September,  the 
autumn  tints  of  the  aspens  and  other  deciduous  tree^ 
and  shrubs,  mingled  with  the  sombre  greens  of  the 
spruces  and  pines,  added  to  its  beauty." 

Near  the  foot  of  this  lake  enters  the  McCIintock 
river,  of  which  little  is  known.  The  outlet  is  a  clear, 
narrow,  quiet  stream,  called  Fifty-mile  River,  which 
flows  somewhat  westerly  down  the  great  valley. 
Latge  numbers  of  dead  and  dying  salmon  are  al- 
ways seen  here  in  summer,  and  as  these  fish  never 
reach  Lake  Marsh,  it  is  evident  that  the  few  who  are 
able,  after  their  long  journey,  to  struggle  up  the 
rapids,  have  not  strength  left  to  survive. 

The  descent  of  the  Lewes  (or  Yukon)  may  be  said 
to  begin  at  this  point,  and  23  miles  below  Lake 
Marsh  the  first  and  most  serious  obstacle  is  encoun- 
tered in  the  White  Horse  Rapids,  and  Miles  Caiion. 
Their  length  together  is  2f  miles,  and  they  seem  to 
have  been  caused  by  a  small  local  effusion  of  lava, 
which  was  most  unfortunately  ejected  right  in  the 
path  of  the  river.  The  cafion  is  often  not  more  than 
100  feet  in  width,  and  although  parts  of  it  may  be 
run  at  favorable  times,  all  of  it  is  dangerous,  and 
the  White  Horse  should  never  be  attempted.  The 
portage  path  in  the  upper  part  of  the  cation  is  on 
the  east  bank,  and  is  about  five-eighths  of  a  mile 


A  BELLE    OF  ALASKA. 


N^,.7!;.s--  •  ■■■" 


''■.(^•il^','!'-).'''*' .'•^  '  •J'"l'-f'''l4P?I^IW^W»i>||i<|l^5f!" 


'fw^nf^'vm 


'  "  "Jl 


Golden  Alaska. 


55 


long.  There  a  stretch  of  navigation  is  possible,  with 
caution,  ending  at  the  head  of  White  Horse  Rapids, 
where  one  must  land  on  the  west  bank,  which  con- 
sists of  steep  rocks,  very  awkward  for  managing  a 
boat  from  or  carrying  a  burden  over.  Usually  the 
empty  boat  can  be  dropped  down  with  a  line,  but 
when  the  water  is  high  boat  as  well  as  cargo  must 
be  carried  for  loo  yards  or  more,  and  again,  lower 
down,  for  a  less  distance.  The  miners  have  put 
down  rollways  along  a  roughly  constructed  road 
here  to  make  the  portage  of  the  boats  easier,  and 
some  windlasses  for  hauling  the  boats  along  the 
water  or  out  and  into  it.  It  would  be  possible  to 
build  a  good  road  or  tramway  along  the  east  bank 
of  these  rapids  without  great  difficulty;  and  plans 
are  already  formulated  for  a  railway  to  be  built 
around  the  whole  three  miles  of  obstruction,  in  the 
summer  of  1898,  to  connect  with  the  steamboats 
above  and  below  that  will  no  doubt  be  running  next 
year. 

The  river  below  the  rapids  is  fast  (about  four 
miles  an  hour)  for  a  few  miles,  and  many  gravel 
banks  appear.  It  gradually  subsides,  however,  into 
a  quiet  stream  flowing  northwest  along  the  same 
wide  valley.  No  rock  is  seen  here,  the  banks  being 
bluffs  of  white  silt,  which  turns  the  clear  blue  of  the 
current  above  into  a  cloudy  and  opaque  yellow. 


m 


i|lli|ijii||pRll^iii.j  II,  iil.jpip  iMPIil  J 


■w^w^wr"**""^ 


56 


Golden  Alaska. 


Thirteen  miles  (measuring,  as  usual,  along  the 
river)  brings  the  voyager  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tah- 
Keena,  a  turbid  stream  about  75  yards  wide  and  10 
feet  deep,  which  comes  in  from  the  west.  Its  sour- 
ces are  at  the  foot  of  the  Chilkat  Pass,  where  it  flows 
out  of  West  Kussoa  lake  (afterwards  named  Lake 
Arkell),  and  was  formerly  much  employed  by  the 
Chilkat  Indians  as  a  means  of  reaching  the  interior, 
but  was  never  in  favor  with  the  miners,  and  is  now 
rarely  followed  by  the  Indians  themselves,  although 
its  navigation  from  the  lake  down  is  reported  to  be 
easy. 

Eleven  and  a  half  miles  of  quiet  boating  takes  one 
to  the  head  of  Lake  Labarge.  This  lake  is  31  miles 
long,  lies  nearly  north  and  south,  and  is  irregularly 
elongated,  reaching  a  width  of  six  miles  near  the 
lower  end.  It  is  2,100  feet  above  sea  level  and  is 
bordered  everywhere  by  mountains,  those  on  the 
south  having  remarkably  abrupt  and  castellated 
forms  and  carrying  summits  of  white  limestone. 
This  lake  is  a  very  stormy  one,  and  travelers  often 
have  to  wait  in  camp  for  several  days  on  its  shores 
until  calmer  weather  permits  them  to  go  on.  This 
whole  river  valley  is  a  great  trough  sucking  inland 
the  prevailing  southerly  summer  winds,  and  naviga- 
tion on  all  the  lakes  is  likely  to  be  rough  for  small 
boats. 


Golden  Alaska. 


57 


The  river  below  Lake  Labarge  is  crooked,  and 
at  first  rapid — six  miles  or  more  an  hour,  and  in- 
terrupted by  boulders;  but  it  is  believed  that  a  stem 
wheel  steamer  of  proper  power  could  ascend  at  all 
times.  The  banks  are  earthen,  but  little  worn,  as 
floods  do  not  seem  to  occur.  Twenty-seven  miles 
takes  one  to  the  mouth  of  a  large  tributary  from  the 
southea^; — the  Teslintoo,  which  Schwatka  called 
Newberry  River,  and  which  the  miners  mistakenly 
call  '  Jtalinqu.  It  comes  from  the  great  Lake 
Teslin,  which  lies  across  the  British  Columbia  boun- 
dary (Lat.  62  deg.),  and  is  said  to  be  100  miles  long; 
and  it  is  further  said  that  an  Indian  trail  connects  it 
with  the  head  of  canoe  navigation  on  the  Taku 
river,  by  only  two  long  days  of  portaging.  Some 
miners  are  said  to  have  gone  over  it  in  1876  or  ^^T. 
Schwatka  and  Hayes  came  this  way;  and  it  may 
form  one  of  the  routes  of  the  future, — perhaps  even 
a  railway  route.  This  river  flows  through  a  wide 
and  somewhat  arid  valley,  and  was  roughly  pros- 
pected about  1887  by  men  who  reported  finding 
fine  gold  all  along  its  course,  and  also  in  tributaries 
of  the  lake.  As  the  mountains  about  the  head  of 
the  lake  belong  to  the  Cassiar  range,  upon  whose 
southern  slopes  the  Cassiar  mines  are  situated,  there 
is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  gold  will  ultimately 
be  found  there  in  paying  quantities. . 


58 


Golden  Alaska. 


This  part  of  the  Lewes  is  called  Thirty-mile  River, 
under  the  impression  that  it  is  really  a  tributary  of 
the  Teslintoo,  which  is,  in  fact,  wider  than  the 
Lewes  at  the  junction  (Teslintoo,  width  575  feet; 
Lewes,  420  feet),  but  it  carries  far  less  water.  From 
this  confluence  the  course  is  north,  in  a  deep,  swift, 
somewhat  turbid  current,  through  the  crooked  de- 
files of  the  Seminow  hills.  Several  auriferous  bars 
have  been  worked  here,  and  some  shore-placers,  in- 
cluding the  rich  Cassiar  bar.  Thirty-one  miles  be- 
low the  Teslintoo  the  Big  Salmon,  or  D'Abbadie 
River,  enters  from  the  southeast — an  important  river, 
350  feet  wide,  having  clear  blue  water  flowing  deep 
and  quiet  in  a  stream  navigable  by  steamboats  for 
many  miles.  Its  head  is  about  150  miles  away,  not 
far  from  Teslin  Lake,  in  some  small  lakes  reached 
by  the  Salmon,  and  surrounded  by  granite  moun- 
tains. Prospectors  have  traced  all  its  course  and 
found  fine  gold  in  many  places. 

Thirty-four  miles  below  the  Big  Salmon,  west- 
north-west,  along  a  comparatively  straight  course, 
carries  the  boatman  to  the  Little  Salmon,  or  Daly 
River,  where  the  valley  is  so  broad  that  no  mountains 
are  anywhere  in  sight,  only  lines  of  low  hills  at  a 
distance  from  the-l^ks.  Five  miles  below  this  river 
the  river  make^  aft  abrupt  turn  to  the  southwest 
around  Eagle's  Nest  rock,  and  i8|  miles  beyond 


«■■ 


mmm 


II 


'.  mfif^^m^m^'mmj  vji^'  *"m^  «>-,  •  ^iii!|pp^iwppii"«if' 


^^(^wppF 


^I^^pi^ 


Golden  Alaska. 


6i 


that  reaches  the  Nordenskiold,  a  small,  swift,  clear- 
watered  tributary  from  the  southwest.  The  rocks  of 
all  this  part  of  the  river  show  thin  seams  of  coal, 
and  gold  has  been  found  on  several  bars.  The  cur- 
rent now  flows  nearly  due  north  and  a  dozen  miles 
below  the  Nordenskiold  carries  one  to  the  second 
and  last  serious  obstruction  to  navigation  in  the 
Rink  rapids,  as  Schwatka  called  them,  or  Five-fin- 
ger, as  they  are  popularly  known,  referring  to  five 
large  masses  of  rock  that  stand  like  towers  in  mid 
channel.  These,  and  other  islands,  back  up  the  water, 
rendering  its  currents  strong  and  turbulent,  but  will 
offer  little  opposition  to  a  good  steamboat.  Boat- 
men descending  the  river  are  advised  to  hug  the 
right  bank,  and  a  landing  should  be  made  twenty 
yards  above  the  rapids  in  an  eddy,  where  heavily 
loaded  boats  should  be  lightened.  The  run  should 
be  made  close  along  the  shore,  and  all  bad  water 
ends  when  the  Little  Rink  Rapids  have  been  passed, 
six  miles  below.  Just  below  the  rapids  the  small 
Tatshun  River  comes  in  from  the  right.  Then  the 
valley  broadens  out,  the  current  quiets  down  and  a 
pleasing  landscape  greets  the  eye  as  bend  after  bend 
is  turned.  A  long  washed  bank  on  the  northeast 
side  is  called  Hoo-che-koo  Bluff,  and  soon  after 
passing  it  one  finds  himself  in  the  midst  of  the  pretty 
Ingersoll  archipelago,  where  the  river  widens  out 


^ 


Golden  Alaska. 


and  wanders  among  hundreds  of  islets.  Fifty-five 
miles  by  the  river  below  Rink  Rapids,  the  confluence 
of  the  Lewes  and  Pelly  is  reached,  and  the  first  sign 
of  civilization  is  the  ruins  of  old  Fort  Selkirk,  with 
such  recent  and  probably  temporary  occupation  as 
circumstances  may  cause.  Before  long,  undoubt- 
edly, a  flourishing  permanent  settlement  will  grow 
up  in  t!iis  favorable  situation. 

The  confluence  here  of  the  Lewes  and  Pelly  rivers 
forms  the  Yukon,  which  thenceforth  pursues  an  un- 
interrupted course  of  1,650  miles  to  Behring  Sea. 
The  country  about  the  confluence  is  low,  with  ex- 
tensive terraced  flats  running  back  to  the  bases  of 
rounded  hills  and  ridges.  The  Yukon  below  the 
junction  averages  about  one-quarter  of  a  mile  in 
width,  and  has  an  average  depth  of  about  10  feet, 
with  a  surface  velocity  of  4f  miles  an  hour.  A 
good  many  grave!  bars  occur,  but  no  shifting  sand. 
The  general  course  nearly  to  White  River,  96  miles, 
is  a  little  north  of  west,  and  many  islands  are  ?  _en ; 
then  the  river  turns  to  a  nearly  due  north  course, 
maintained  to  Fort  Reliance.  The  White  River  is 
a  powerful  stream,  plunging  down  loaded  with  silt, 
over  ever  shifting  sand  bars.  Its  upper  source  is 
problematical,  but  is  probably  in  the  Alaskan 
mountains  near  the  head  of  the  Tanana  and  Forty- 
mile  Creek.  * 


Golden  Alaska* 


63 


For  the  next  ten  miles  the  river  spreads  out  to 
more  than  a  mile  wide  and  becomes  a  maze  of  isl- 
ands and  bars,  the  main  channel  being  along  the 
western  shore,  where  there  is  plenty  of  water.  This 
brings  one  to  Stewart  river,  which  is  the  most  im- 
portant right-hand  tributary  between  the  Pelly  and 
the  Porcupine.  It  enters  from  the  east  in  the  middle 
of  a  wide  valley,  and  half  a  mile  above  its  mouth  is 
200  yatds  in  width;  the  current  is  slow  and  the  water 
dar'^  colored.  It  has  been  followed  to  its  headwa- 
ters in  the  main  range  of  the  Rockies,  and  several 
large  branches,  on  some  of  which  there  are  remark- 
able falls,  have  been  traced  to  their  sources  through 
the  forested  and  snowy  hills  where  they  rise.  These 
sources  are  perhaps  200  miles  from  the  mouth,  but 
as  none  of  the  wanderers  were  equipped  with  either 
geographical  knowledge  or  instruments  nothing 
definite  is  known.  Reports  of  traces  of  precious 
metals  have  been  brought  back  from  many  points 
in  the  Stewart  valley,  but  this  information  is  as 
vague  as  the  other  thus  far.  All  reports  agree  that 
a  light-draught  steamboat  could  go  to  the  head  of 
the  Stewart  and  far  up  its  feeders.  There  is  a  trad- 
ing post  at  its  mouth. 

The  succeeding  125  miles  holds  what  is  at  pres- 
ent the  most  interesting  and  populous  part  of  the 
Yukon  valley.  The  river  .va|ies  from  half  to  three- 


*% 


64 


Golden  Alaska. 


quarters  of  a  mile  wide  and  is  full  of  islands.  About 
23  miles  below  Stewart  River  a  large  stream  enters 
from  the  west  called  Sixty-mile  Creek  by  the  miners, 
who  have  had  a  small  winter  camp  and  trading  store 
there  for  some  years,  and  have  explored  its  course 
for  gold  to  its  rise  in  the  mountains  west  of  the  in- 
ternational boundary.  Every  little  tributary  has  been 
named,  among  them  (going  up),  Charley's  Fork, 
Edwards  Creek  and  Hawley  Creek,  in  Canada,  and 
then,  on  the  American  side  of  the  line.  Gold  Creek, 
Miller  Creek  and  Bed  Rock  Creek.  The  sand  and 
gravel  of  all  these  have  yielded  fine  gold  and  some 
of  them,  as  Miller  Creek,  have  become  noted  for  their 
richness.  Forty-four  miles  below  Sixty-mile  takes 
one  to  Dawson  City,  at  the  mouth  of  Klondike  River, 
— the  center  of  the  highest  productiveness  and  great- 
est excitement  during  1897,  when  the  gold  fields  of 
the  interior  of  Alaska  first  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  world.  Leaving  to  another  special  chapter  an 
account  of  them,  the  itinerary  may  be  completed  by 
saying  that  6^  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Klon- 
dike is  Fort  Reliance,  an  old  private  trading  post  of 
no  present  importance.  Twelve  and  a  half  miles 
farther  the  Chan-din-du  River  enters  from  the  east, 
and  33I  below  that  is  the  mouth  of  Forty-mile 
Creek,  or  Cone  Hill  River,  which  until  the  past  year 
was  the  most  important  mining  region  of  the  inte- 


•'i'.'tW'IWH') 


''M^iv^nMpnpppiipip 


Golden  Alaska. 


67 


rior.  It  took  its  name  from  the  supposition  that  it 
was  40  miles  from  Fort  Reliance,  but  the  true  dis- 
tance is  46  miles.  On  the  south  side  of  the  outlet  of 
this  stream  is  the  old  trading  post  and  modern  town 
of  Forty-Mile,  and  on  the  north  side  the  more  re- 
cent settlement  Cudahy.  Both  towns  are,  of  course, 
on  the  western  bank  of  the  Yukon,  which  is  here 
about  half  a  mile  wide.  Five  miles  below  Cudahy, 
Coal  Creek  comes  in  from  the  east,  and  nearly 
marks  the  Alaskan  boundary,  where  a  narrowed 
part  of  the  river  admits  one  to  United  States  terri- 
tory. Prominent  landmarks  here  are  two  great 
rocks,  named  by  old  timers  Old  Man  rock,  on  the 
west  bank,  and  Old  Woman,  on  the  east  bank,  in 
reference  to  Indian  legends  attached  to  them.  Some 
twenty  miles  west  of  the  boundary — the  river  now 
having  turned  nearly  due  west  in  its  general  course 
—Seventy-mile,  or  Klevande  Creek,  comes  in  from 
the  south,  and  somewhat  below  it  the  Tat-on-duc 
from  the  north.  It  was  ascended  in  1887  by  Mr. 
Ogilvie,  who  describes  its  lower  valley  as  broad  and 
well  timbered,  but  its  upper  part  flows  through  a 
series  of  magnificent  cations,  one  of  which  half  a 
mile  long,  is  not  more  than  50  feet  wide  with  vertical 
walls  fully  700  feet  in  height.  There  are  said  to  be 
warm  sulphur  springs  along  its  course,  and  the  In- 
dians regard  it  as  one  of  the  best  hunting  fields, 


II 


68 


Golden  Alaska. 


sheep  being  especially  numeroue  on  the  mountains 
in  which  it  heads,  close  by  the  international  boun- 
dary, where  it  is  separated  by  only  a  narrow  divide 
from  Ogilvie  River,  one  of  the  head  streams  of  the 
Peel  river,  and  also  from  the  head  of  the  Porcupine, 
to  which  there  is  an  Indian  trail.  Hence  the  miners 
call  this  Sheep  River.  The  rocks  along  this  stream 
are  all  sandstones,  limestone  and  conglomerates, 
with  many  thin  calcite  veins.  Large  and  dense  tim- 
ber prevails,  and  game  is  abundant. 

Below  the  mouth  of  the  Tat-on-duc  several  small 
streams  enter,  of  which  the  Kandik  on  the  north 
and  the  Kolto  or  Charley's  River — at  the  mouth  of 
which  there  used  to  be  the  home  of  an  old  Indian 
notability  named  Charley — ^are  most  important. 
About  1 60  miles  from  the  boundary  the  Yukon  flats 
are  reached,  and  the  center  of  another  important 
mining  district — ^that  of  Birch  Creek  and  the  Upper 
Tanana — ^at  Circle  City,  the  usual  terminus  of  the 
trip  up  the  Lower  Yukon  from  St.  Michael. 


i 


Golden  Alaska. 


69 


HISTORY  AND  CHARACTERISTICS  OF 
THE  UPPER  YUKON  VALLEY. 


The  sources  of  the  Yukon  are  just  within  the 
northern  boundary  of  British  Columbia  (Lat.  62 
deg.)  among  a  mass  of  mountains  forming  a  part 
of  the  great  uplift  of  the  Coast  range,  continuous 
with  the  Sierras  of  California  and  the  Puget  Sound 
coast.  Here  spring  the  sources  of  the  Stikeen,  flow- 
ing southwest  to  the  Pacific,  of  the  Fraser,  flowing 
south  through  British  Columbia,  and  of  the  Liard 
flowing  northeasterly  to  the  Mackenzie.  Headwa- 
ters of  the  Stikeen  and  i^iard  interlock,  indeed, 
along  an  extensive  but  sinuous  watershed  having  an 
elevation  of  3,000  feet  or  less  and  extending  east  and 
west.  There  are,  however,  many  wide  and  com- 
paratively level  bottom  lands  scattered  throughout 
this  region  and  numerous  lakes.  The  coast  ranges 
here  have  an  average  width  of  about  eighty  miles 
and  border  the  continent  as  far  north  as  Lynn 
Canal,  where  they  trend  inland  behind  the  St.  Elias 
Alps.  Many  of  their  peaks  exceed  8,000  feet  in 
height,  but  few  districts  have  been  explored  west. 
Eastward  of  this  mountain  axis,  and  separated 
from  it  by  the  valleys  of  the  Fraser  and  Columbia 
in  the  south  and  the  Yukon  northward,  is  the  Con- 


70 


Golden  Alaska. 


tinental  Divide,  or  Rocky  Mountains  proper,  which 
is  broken  through  (as  noted  above)  by  the  Liard, 
but  north  of  that  canon-bound  river  forms  the 
watershed  between  the  Liard  and  Yukon  and  be- 
tween the  Yukon  and  Mackenzie.  These  summits 
attain  a  height  of  7,000  to  9,000  feet,  and  rise  from 
a  very  complicated  series  of  ranges  extending  north- 
ward to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  very  little  explored. 
The  valley  of  the  Yukon,  then,  lies  between  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  separating  its  drainage  basin 
from  that  of  the  Maclcenzie,  and  the  Coast  range 
and  St.  Elias  Alps  separating  it  from  the  sea.  Gran- 
ite is  the  principal  rock  in  both  these  great  lines  of 
watershed  uplift,  and  all  the  mountains  show  the  ef- 
fects of  an  extensive  glaciation,  and  all  the  higher 
peaks  still  bear  local  remnants  of  the  ancient  ice- 
sheet. 

The  headwaters  of  the  great  river  are  gathered 
into  three  principal  streams.  First,  the  Lewes,  east- 
ernmost, with  its  large  tributaries,  the  Teslintoo  and 
Big  Salmon;  second,  the  Pelly,  with  its  great  west- 
em  tributary,  the  MacMillan. 

The  Lewes  River  has  been  described.  It  was 
known  to  the  fur  traders  as  early  as  1840,  and  the 
Chilkat  and  Chilkoot  passes  were  occasionally  used 
by  their  Indian  couriers  from  that  time  on.  The 
gold  fields  in  British  Columbia  from  1863  onwards 


SCENE  IN  JUNEAU -MOUNTAINS  AND  INDIAN   HOUSES. 


i 


~'  1 


Golden  Alaska. 


73 


stimulated  prospecting  in  the  northern  and  coastal 
parts  of  that  province,  and  in  1872  prospectors 
reached  the  actual  headwaters  of  the  Lewes  from  the 
south,  but  were  probably  not  aware  of  it;  and  that 
country  was  not  scientifically  examined  until  the  re- 
connoissance  of  Dr.  G.  M.  Dawson  in  1887.  In  1866 
Ketchum  and  La  Barge,  of  the  Western  Union  Tel- 
egraph survey,  ascended  the  Lewes  as  far  as  the 
lakes  still  called  Ketchum  and  La  Barge.  In  1883 
Lieut.  Frederick  Schwatka,  U.  S.  A.,  and  an  assis- 
tant named  Hayes,  and  several  Indians,  made  their 
way  across  from  Taku  inlet  to  the  head  of  Tagish 
(or  Tako)  Lake,  and  descended  the  Lewes  on  a  raft 
to  Fort  Selkirk,  studying  and  naming  the  valley. 
From  Fort  Selkirk  an  entirely  new  route  was  fol- 
lowed toward  the  mountains  forming  the  divide  be- 
tween the  Yukon  and  the  White  and  Copper  rivers, 
which  flow  to  the  Gulf  of  Alaska,  north  of  Mt.  St. 
Elias.  After  discovering  a  pass  little  more  than 
5,000  feet  high,  they  struck  the  Chityna  River  and 
followed  that  to  the  Copper  River  and  thence  to  the 
coast.  The  Copper  River  Valley  was  thoroughly  ex- 
plored somewhat  later  by  Lieuts.  Abercrombie  and 
Allen, U.  S.  A.,  who  added  greatly  to  the  knowledge 
of  that  large  river,  which,  however,  seems  to  have 
no  good  harbor  at  its  mouth.  The  miners  began  to 
use  the  Chilkoot  Pass  and  the  Lewes  River  route  to 


74 


Golden  Alaska. 


the  Yukon  district  in  1884.  Some  additions  were 
made  to  geography  in  this  region  by  an  exploring 
expedition  dispatched  to  Alaska  in  1890  by  Frank 
Leslie's  Weekly,  under  Messrs.  N.  J.  Wells,  E.  J. 
Glave  and  A.  B.  Schanz.  They  entered  by  way  of 
Chilkat  pass  and  came  to  a  large  lake  at  the  head 
of  the  Tah-keena  tributary  of  the  Lewes,  which  they 
named  Lake  Arkell,  though  it  was  probably  the 
same  earlier  described  by  the  Drs.  Krause.  Here 
Mr.  Glave  left  the  party  and  striking  across  the  coast 
range  southward  discovered  the  headwaters  of  the 
Alsekh  and  descended  to  Dry  Bay.  At  Forty-mile 
creek  Mr.  Wells  and  a  party  crossed  over  into  the 
basin  of  the  Tanana  and  increased  the  knowledge  of 
that  river.  Mr.  Schanz  went  down  the  Yukon 
and  explored  the  lower  region.  In  1892  Mr.  Glave 
again  went  to  Alaska,  demonstrated  the  possibility 
of  taking  pack  horses  over  the  Chilkat  trail,  and 
with  an  aid  named  Dalton  made  an  extensive  jour- 
ney southward  along  the  crest  of  the  watershed  be- 
tween the  Yukon  valley  and  the  coast. 

Turning  now  to  the  Pelly,  we  find  that  this  was 
the  earliest  avenue  of  discovery.  The  Pelly  rises  in 
lakes  under  the  62nd  parallel,  just  over  a  divide  from 
the  Finlayson  and  Frances  Lakes,  the  head  of  the 
Frances  River,  the  northern  source  of  the  Liard. 
This  region  was  entered  by  the  Hudson  Bay  Com- 


Golden  Alaska. 


75 


pany  as  early  as  1834,  and  gradually  exploring  the 
Liard  River  and  its  tributaries,  in  1840  Robert  Camp- 
bell crossed  over  the  divide  north  of  Lake  Finlay- 
son  (at  the  head  of  the  Frances),  and  discovered  (at 
a  place  called  Pelly  Banks)  a  large  river  flowing 
northwest  which  he  named  Pelly.  In  1843  ^^  ^^ 
scended  the  river  to  its  confluence  with 'the  Lewes 
(which  he  then  named),  and  in  1848  he  built  a  post 
for  the  H.  B.  Company  at  that  point,  calling  it  Fort 
Selkirk.  This  done,  in  1850  Campbell  floated  down 
the  river  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Porcupine, 
where  three  years  previously  (1847)  For*  Yukon  had 
been  established  by  Mr.  Murray,  who  (preceded  by 
James  Bell  in  1842)  crossed  over  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Mackenzie.  The  Yukon  may  thus  be  said 
to  have  been  "discovered"  at  several  points  inde- 
pendently. The  Russians,  who  knew  it  only  at  the 
mouth,  called  it  Kwikhpak,  after  an  Eskimo  name. 
The  English  at  Fort  Yukon  learned  that  name  from 
the  Indians  there,  and  the  upper  river  was  the  Pelly. 
The  English  and  Russian  traders  soon  met,  and 
when  Campbell  came  down  in  1850  the  identity  of 
the  whole  stream  was  established.  The  name  Yu- 
kon gradually  took  the  place  of  all  others  on  English 
maps  and  is  now  recognized  for  the  whole  stream 
from  the  junction  of  the  Lewes  and  Pelly  to  the 
delta. 


76 


Golden  Alaska. 


The  Yukon  basin,  east  of  the  Alaskan  boundar)', 
is  known  in  Canada  as  the  Yukon  district,  and  con- 
tains about  i5c),0(X)  square  miles.  This  is  nearly 
equal  to  the  area  of  France,  is  greater  than  that  of 
the  United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
by  71,000  square  miles,  and  nearly  three  times  big- 
ger than  that  of  the  New  England  states.  To  this 
must  be  added  an  area  of  about  :  80,000  square 
miles,  west  of  the  boundary,  dr?iined  by  the  Yukon 
upon  its  way  to  the  sea  through  /lifiska.  Neverthe- 
less, Dr.  G.  M.  Dawson  an*!  other  students  of  the 
matter  are  of  the  opinion  thai  the  river  does  not  dis- 
charge as  much  water  as  does  the  Mackenzie — net 
could  it  be  expected  to  do  so,  since  the  drainage 
area  of  the  Mackenzie  is  more  than  double  that  of 
the  Yukon,  while  the  average  annual  precipitation 
of  rain  over  the  two  '^-eas  seems  to  be  substantially 
similar.  Remembering  these  figures  and  that  the 
basin  of  the  Mississippi  has  no  less  than  1,225,000 
square  miles  as  compared  with  the  330,000  square 
miles  of  the  Yukon  basin,  it  is  plain  that  the  state- 
ment often  heard  that  the  Yukon  is  next  to  the 
Mississippi  in  size,  is  greatly  exaggerated.  In  fact, 
its  proportions,  from  all  points  of  view,  are  exceeded 
by  those  of  the  Nile,  Ganges,  St.  Lawrence  and 
several  other  rivers  of  considerably  less  importance 
than  the  Mississippi. 


wnT^'""'*'^^-^*"  '  **  ''  "'i.>y^!i^waL» 


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! 


Golden  Alaska. 


79 


Resuming  the  historical  outline,  a  short  paragraph 
will  suffice  to  complete  the  simple  story  down  to 
the  year  1896. 

Robert  Campbell  had  scarcely  returned  from  his 
river  voyage  to  his  duties  at  Fort  Selkirk  when 
he  discovered  that  its  location  in  the  angle  between 
the  rivers  was  untenable,  owing  to  ice- jams  and 
floods.  The  station  was  therefore  moved  in  the  sea- 
son of  1852  across  to  the  west  bank  of  the  Yukon, 
a  short  distance  below  the  confluence,  and  new 
buildings  were  erected.  These  had  scarcely  been 
completed,  when,  on  August  ist,  a  band  of  Chilkat 
Indians  from  the  coast  came  down  the  river  and 
early  in  the  morning  seized  upon  the  post,  surpris- 
ing Mr.  Campbell  in  bed,  and  ordered  him  to  take 
his  departure  before  night.  They  were  not  at  all 
rough  with  him  or  his  few  men,  but  simply  insisted 
that  they  depart,  which  they  did,  taking  such  per- 
sonal luggage  as  they  could  put  into  a  boat  and 
started^ down  stream.  The  Indians  then  pillaged  the 
place,  and  after  feasting  on  all  they  could  eat  and 
appropriating  what  they  could  carry  away,  set  fire 
to  the  remainder  and  burned  the  whole  place  to  the 
ground.  One  chimney  still  stands  to  mark  the  spot, 
and  others  lie  where  they  fell.  This  act  was  not 
dictated  by  wanton  dcstructiveness  on  the  part  of 
the   Chilkats — bad  as  they  undoubtedly  were    and 


P 


8o 


Golden  Alaska. 


are;  but  was  in  pursuance  of  a  theory.    The  estab- 
lishment of  the  post  there  interfered  with  the  monop- 
oly of  trade  that  they  had  enjoyed  theretofore  with 
all  the  Indians  of  the  interior,  to  whom  they  brought 
salable  goods  from  the  coast,  taking  in  exchange 
furs,  copper,  etc.,  at  an  exorbitant  profit,  which 
they  enforced  by  their  superior  brutality.  The  Hud- 
son Bay  Company  was  robbing  them  of  this,  hence 
the  demolition  of  the  post,  which  was  too  remote 
to  be  profitably  sustained  against  such  opposition. 
A  little  way  down  the  riyer  Mr.  Campbell  met  a 
fleet  of  boats  bringing  up  his  season's  goods,  and 
many  friendly  Indians.  These  were  eager  to  pursue 
the  robbers,  but  Campbell  thought  it  best  not  to  do 
so.  He  turned  the  supply  boats  back  to  Fort  Yukon 
and  led  his  own  men  up  the  Pelly  and  over  the  pass 
to  the  Frances  and  so  down  the  Liard  to  Port  Simp- 
son, on  the  Mackenzie.     Such  is  the  story  of  the 
ruiiw  of  Fort  Selkirk.  Fort  Yukon  flourished  as  the 
only  trading  post  until  the  purchase  of  Alaska  by 
the  United  States,  when  Captain  Pa\.aond,  an  army 
officer,  was  sent  to  inform  the  factor  there  that  his 
post  was  on  United  States  territory,  and  to  request 
him  to  leave.     He  did  so  as  spon  as  Rampart  Hcr.se 
could  be  built  to  take  its  place  up  the  Porcupine 
Old  Fort  Yukon  then  fell  into  ruins,  and  Rampart 
House  itself  was  soon  abandoned.     In  1873  an  op- 


Golden  Alaska. 


8i 


position  appeared  in  the  independent  trading  house 
of  Harper  &  McQuestion,  men  who  had  come  into 
the  country  from  the  south,  after  long  experience 
in  the  fur  trade.  They  had  posts  at  various  points, 
occupied   Fort  Reliance  for  several  years,  and  in 

1886  established  a  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Stewart 
River  for  the  miners  who  had  begun  to  gather  there 
two  years  before.  Many  maps  mark  "Reed's  House" 
as  a  point  on  the  upper  Stewart,  but  no  such  a 
trading-post  «:ver  existed  there,  although  there  was 
a  fishing  station  and  shelter-hut  on  one  of  its  upper 
branches  at  an  early  day.  This  firm  became  the  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  (a 
San  Francisco  corporation)  and  opened  a  store  in 

1887  at  Forty  Mile,  where  they  still  do  business. 
Gold  Discoveries. — The  presence  of  fine  float  gold 

in  river  sands  was  early  discovered  by  the  Hudson 
Bay  Company  men,  but  in  accordance  with  the 
former  policy  of  that  company  no  mining  was  done 
and  as  little  said  about  it  as  possible.  The  rich- 
ness of  the  Cassiar  mines  led  to  some  prospecting 
northward  as  early  as  1872,  and  by  1880  wander- 
ing gold  hunters  had  penetrated  to  the  Teslintoo, 
where  fur  several  years  $8  to  $10  a  day  of  fine  gold 
was  sluiced  out  during  the  season  by  the  small  col- 
ony. In  1886  Cassiar  Bar,  on  the  Lewes,  below 
there,  was  opened,  and  a  party  of  four  took  out 


82 


Golden  Alaska. 


$6,000  in  30  days,  while  other  neighboring  bar? 
yielded  fair  wages.  By  that  time  Stewart  River  was 
becoming  attractive,  and  many  miners  worked  plac- 
ers there  profitably  in  1885,  '86  and  '87.  During 
the  fall  of  1886  three  or  four  men  took  the  engines 
out  of  the  little  steamboat  "New  Racket,"  which 
was  laid  up  for  the  winter  there,  and  used  them  to 
drive  a  set  of  pumps  lifting  water  into  sluice-boxes; 
and  with  this  crude  machinery  each  man  cleared 
$1,000  in  less  than  a  month.  A  judicious  estimate 
is  that  the  Stewart  River  placers  yielded  $100,000 
in  1885  and  '86. 

Prospecting  went  on  unremittingly,  but  nothing 
else  was  found  of  promise  until  1886,  when  coarse 
gold  was  reported  upon  Forty  Mile  Creek,  or  the 
Shitando  River,  as  it  was  known  to  the  Indians,  and 
a  local  rush  took  place  to  its  cafions,  the  principal 
attraction  being  Franklin  Gulch,  named  after  its  dis- 
coverer. Three  or  four  hundred  men  gathered  there 
by  the  season  of  1887,  and  all  did  well.  This  stream 
is  a  "bed-rock"  creek — that  is,  one  in  the  bed  of 
which  there  is  very  little  drift;  and  in  many  places 
the  bed-rock  was  scraped  with  knives  to  get  the  lit- 
tle loose  stufi  out  of  crannies.  Some  nuggets  were 
found.  At  its  mouth  are  extensive  bars  along  the 
Yukon,  which  carry  gold  throughout  their  depth. 
During  1888  the  season  was  very  unfavorable  and 


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Golden  Alaska. 


85 


not  much  was  accomplished.  Sixty-mile  Creek  was 
brought  to  notice,  and  Miller  Gulch  proved  richer 
than  usual.  It  is  one  of  the  headwaters  of  Sixty 
Mile,  and  some  70  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the 
river  where,  in  1892,  a  trading  store,  saw-mill  and 
little  wintering-town  was  begun.  Miller  Creek  is 
about  7  miles  long,  and  its  valley  is  filled  with  vast 
deposits  of  auriferous  drift.  In  1892  rich  strikes 
were  made  and  125  miners  gathered  there,  paying 
$10  a  day  for  help,  and  many  making  fortunes.  One 
clean-up  of  1,100  ounces  was  reported.  Glacier 
Creek,  a  neighboring  stream,  exhibited  equal 
chances  and  drew  many  claimants,  some  of  whom 
migrated  thither  in  mid- winter,  drawing  their  sleds 
through  the  woods  and  rocks  with  the  murcury  30 
degrees  below  zero.  All  of  these  gulches  and  other 
golden  headwaters  on  both  Forty  Mile  and  Sixty 
Mile  Creek,  are  west  of  the  boundary  in  Alaska;  but 
the  mouths  of  the  main  streams  and  supply  points 
are  in  Canadian  territory.  In  all,  the  great  ob- 
stacle is  the  difficulty  of  getting  water  up  on  the 
bars  without  expensive  machmery;  and  the  same  is 
true  of  the  rich  gravel  along  the  banks  of  the  Yukon 
itself.  Birch  Creek  was  the  next  find  of  import- 
ance, and  was  promising  enough  to  draw  the  larger 
part  of  the  local  population,  which  by  this  time  had 
been  considerably  increased,  for  the  news  of  the  rich- 


lU 


86 


Golden  Alaska. 


ness  of  the  Forty  Mile  gulches  had  reached  the  out- 
side world  and  attracted  adventurous  men  and  not 
a  few  women  not  only  from  the  coast,  but  from 
British  Columbia  and  the  United  States.  A  rival  to 
Harper  &  Mc  Question,  agents  of  the  Alaska  Com- 
mercial Company,  appeared  in  the  North  American 
Transportation  and  Trading  Company,  which  in- 
creased the  transportation  service  on  the  Yukon 
River,  by  which  most  of  the  new  arrivals  entered, 
and  by  establishing  large  competitive  stores  at  Fort 
Cudahy  (Forty  Mile)  and  elsewhere  reduced  the 
price  of  food  and  other  necessaries.  About  this 
time,  also,  the  Canadian  government  sent  law  of- 
ficers and  a  detachment  of  mounted  police,  so  that 
the  Yukon  District  began  to  take  a  recognized  place 
in  the  world. 

Birch  Creek  is  really  a  large  river  rising  in  the 
Tanana  Hills,  just  west  of  the  boundary  and  flowing 
northwest,  parallel  with  the  Yukon,  to  a  debouch- 
ment some  20  miles  west  of  Fort  Yukon.  Between 
the  two  rivers  lie  the  "Yukon  Flats,"  and  at  one 
point  they  are  separated  by  only  six  miles.  Here 
at  the  Yukon  end  of  the  road  arose  Circle  City,  so- 
called  from  its  proximity  to  the  Arctic  Circle.  This 
is  an  orderly  little  town  of  regular  streets,  and  has 
a  recorder  of  claims,  a  store,  etc. 

Birch  Creek  has  been  thoroughly  explored,  and 


■^prriPi^f^w 


Golden  Alaska. 


87 


in  1894  yielded  good  results.  The  gJd  was  in 
coarse  flakes  and  nuggets,  so  that  $40  a  day  was 
made  by  some  men,  while  all  did  well.  The  drift 
is  not  as  deep  here  as  in  most  other  streams,  and 
water  can  be  applied  more  easily  and  copiously — 
a  vast  advantage.  Molymute,  Crooked,  Independ- 
ence, Mastadon  and  Preacher  creeks  are  the  most 
noteworthy  tributaries  of  this  rich  field. 

The  Koyukuk  River,  which  flows  from  the  bord- 
ers of  the  Arctic  Ocean,  gathering  many  mountain 
tributaries,  to  enter  the  Yukon  at  Nulato,  was  also 
prospected  in  1892,  '93  and  '94,  and  indications  of 
good  placers  have  been  discovered  there,  but  the 
northerly,  exposed  and  remote  situation  has  caused 
them  to  receive  little  attention  thus  far. 


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Photographic 

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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14SS0 

(716)872-4903 


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THE  KLONDIKE. 


During  the  autumn  of  1896  several  men  and  wo- 
men, none  of  whom  were  "old  miners,"  discouraged 
by  poor  results  lower  down  the  river  resolved  to 
try  prospecting  in  the  Klondike  gulch.  They  were 
laughed  at  and  argued  with;  were  told  that  prospect- 
ors years  ago  had  been  a.l  over  that  valley,  and 
found  only  the  despised  "flour  gold,"  which  was  too 
fine  to  pay  for  washing  it  out.  Nevertheless  they 
persisted  and  went  to  work.  Only  a  short  time 
elapsed,  when,  on  one  of  the  lower  southside 
branches  of  the  stream  they  found  pockets  of  flakes 
and  nuggets  of  gold  far  richer  than  anything  Alaska 
had  ever  shown  before.  They  named  the  stream 
Bonanza,  and  a  small  tributary  El  Dorado.  Others 
came  and  nearly  everyone  succeeded.  Before  spring 
nearly  a  ton  and  a  half  of  gold  had  been  taken  from 
the  frozen  ground.  Nuggets  weighing  a  pound 
(troy)  were  found.  A  thousand  dollars^  day  was 
sometimes  saved  despite  the  rudeness  of  the  methods, 
but  these  things  happened  when  pockets  were 
struck.  Probably  the  total  clean-up  from  January 
to  June  was  not  less  than  $1,500,000.    The  report 


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Golden  Alaska. 


91 


spread  and  all  those  in  the  interior  of  Alaska  con- 
centrated there,  where  a  "camp"  of  tents  and  shan- 
ties soon  sprang  up  at  the  mouth  of  the  Klondike 
called  dawson  City.  A  correspondent  of  the  New 
York  Sun  describes  it  as  beautifully  situated,  and 
a  very  quiet,  orderly  town,  due  to  the  strict  super- 
vision of  the  Canadian  mounted  police,  who  allow 
no  pistols  to  be  carried,  but  a  great  place  for  gam- 
bling with  high  stakes.  It  bids  fair  to  become  the 
mining  metropolis  of  the  northwest,  and  had  about 
3,000  inhabitants  before  the  advance  guard  of  the 
present  "rush"  reached  there. 

Hundreds  of  claims  were  staked  out  and  worked 
in  all  the  little  gulches  opening  along  Bonanza,  El- 
dorado, Hunker,  Bear  and  other  tributaries  of  the 
Klondike,  and  of  Indian  River,  a  stream  thirty  miles 
south  of  it,  and  a  greater  number  seem  to  be  of 
equal  richness  with  those  first  worked.  All  this  is, 
within  a  radius  south  and  east  of  20  miles  from  Daw- 
son City,  and  most  of  it  far  nearer.  The  country 
is  rough,  wooded  hills,  and  the  same  trouble  as  to 
water  is  met  there  as  elsewhere,  yet  riches  were  ob- 
tained by  many  men  in  a  few  weeks  without  ex- 
hausting their  claims. 

So  remote  and  shut  in  has  this  region  been  in  the 
winter  that  no  word  of  this  leaked  out  until  the 
river  opened  and  a  party  of  successful  miners  came 


92 


Golden  Alaska. 


down  to  the  coast  and  took  passage  on  the  steamer 
Excelsior  for  San  Francisco.  They  arrived  on 
July  14,  and  no  one  suspected  that  there  was  any- 
thing extraordinary  in  the  passenger  list  or  cargo, 
until  a  procession  of  weather  beaten  men  began  a 
march  to  the  Selby  Smelting  works,  and  there  began 
to  open  sacks  of  dust  and  nuggets  until  the  heap 
made  something  not  seen  in  San  Francisco  since 
the  days  of  '49.  The  news  flashed  over  the  world 
and  aroused  a  fire  of  interest;  and  when  three  days 
later  the  Portland  came  into  Seattle,  bringing  other 
miners  and  over  $1,000,000  in  gold,  there  was  a 
rush  to  go  north  which  bids  fair  to  continue  for 
months  to  come,  for  one  of  the  articles  of  faith  in 
the  creed  of  the  Yukon  miner  is  that  many  other 
gulches  will  be  found  as  rich  as  these.  One  elderly 
man,  who  went  in  late  last  fall  and  with  partners 
took  four  claims  on  Eldorado  Creek,  told  a  reporter 
that  his  pickings  had  amounted  to  $112,000,  and 
that  he  was  confident  that  the  ground  left  was  worth 
$2,000,000  more.  "I  want  to  Say,"  he  exclaimed, 
"that  I  believe  there  is  gold  in  every  creek  in  Alas- 
ka. Certain  on  the  Klondike  the  claims  are  not 
spotted.  One  seems  to  be  as  good  as  another.  It's 
gold,  gold,  gold,  all  over.  It's  yards  wide  and  deep. 
All  you  have  to  do  is  to  run  a  hole  down." 
One  might  go  on  quoting  such  rhapsodies,  aris- 


\ 


^■^■■P 


;:»(? 


Golden  Alaska. 


93 


ing  from  success,  to  end  of  the  book,  but  it  is 
needless,  for  every  newspaper  has  been  full  of  them 
for  a  month. 

One  man  and  his  wife  got  $135,000;  another, 
formerly  a  steamboat  deck-hand,  $150,000;  another, 
$115,000;  a  score  or  more  over  $50,000,  and  so  on. 
These  sums  were  savings  after  having  the  heavy  ex- 
penses of  the -winter,  and  most  of  them  had  dug 
out  only  a  small  part  of  their  ground. 

It  is  curious  in  view  of  this  success  to  read  the 
only  descriptive  note  the  present  writer  can  dis- 
cover in  early  writings  as  to*  this  gold  river.  It 
occurs  in  Ogilvie's  report  of  his  explorations  of 
.1887,  and  is  as  follows:  "Six  and  a  half  miles  above 
Reliance  the  Ton-Dac  River  of  the  Indians  (Deer 
River  of  Schwatka)  enter  from  the  east.  It  is  a 
small  river  about  40  yards  wide  at  the  mouth  and 
shallow;  the  water  is  clear  and  transparent  and  of 
a  beautiful  blue  color.  The  Indians  catch  great 
numbers  of  salmon  here.  A  miner  had  prospected 
up  this  river  for  an  estimated  distance  of  40  miles 
in  the  season  of  1887.    I  did  not  see  him." 


94 


Golden  Alaska. 


r^ 


THE  METHODS  OF  PLACER  MINING 


in  the  Klondike  region  and  elsewhere  along  the 
Yukon  are  different  from  those  pursued  else- 
where, owing  to  the  fact  that  from  a  point 
about  three  feet  below  the  surface  the  ground 
is  permanently  frozen.  The  early  men  tried  to 
strip  off  the  gravel  down  to  the  gold  lying  in  its 
lower  levels  or  beneath  it,  upon  the  bed  rock,  and 
found  it  exceedingly  slow  and  laborious  work;  more- 
over, it  was  only  dufing  the  short  summer  that  any 
work  could  be  done.  Now,  by  the  aid  of  fires  they 
sink  shafts  and  then  tunnel  along  the  bed  rock 
where  the  gold  lies.  A  returned  miner  described 
the  process  as  follows,  pointing  out  the  great  ad- 
vantage of  being  able  to  work  under  ground  during 
the  winter: 

"The  miners  build  fires  over  the  area  where  they 
wish  to  work  and  keep  these  lighted  over  that  terri- 
tory for  the  space  of  twenty-four  hours.  Then  the 
gravel  will  be  melted  and  softened  to  a  depth  of  per- 
haps six  inches.  This  is  then  taken  off  and  other 
fires  are  built  until  the  gold  bearing  layer  is  reached. 
When  the  shaft  is  down  that  far  other  fires  are  built 
at  the  bottom,  against  the  sides  of  the  layer  and  tun- 
nels made  in  the  same  manner.     Blasting  will  do 


1 


A  NATIVE. 


ijmmmmm 


\ 


'  \ 


Golden  Alaska. 


97 


no  good,  the  charge  not  cracking  off  but  blowing 
out  of  the  hole.  The  matter  taken  out  and  contain- 
ing the  gold  is  piled  up  until  spring,  when  the  tor- 
rents come  down,  and  is  panned  and  cradled  by 
these.    It  is  certainly  very  hard  labor." 

Another  quotation  may  be  given  as  a  practical  ex- 
ample of  this  process: 

"The  gold  so  far  has  been  taken  from  Bonanza 
and  Eldorado,  both  well  named,  for  the  richness  of 
the  placers  is  truly  marvelous.  Eldorado,  thirty 
miles  long,  is  staked  the  whole  length  and  as  far  as 
worked  has  paid. 

"One  of  our  passengers, 'who  is  taking  home 
$100,000  with  him,  has  worked  one  hundred  feet  of 
his  ground  and  refused  $200,000  for  the  remainder, 
and  confidently  expects  to  clean  up  $400,000  and 
more.  He  has  in  a  bottle  $212  from  one  pan  of  dirt. 
His  pay  dirt  while  being  washed  averaged  $250  an 
hour  to  each  man  shoveling  in.  Two  others  of  our 
miners  who  worked  their  own  claim  cleaned  up 
$6,000  from  one  day's  washing. 

"There  is  about  fifteen  feet  of  dirt  above  bed  rock, 
the  pay  streak  averaging  from  four  to  six  feet,  which 
is  tunnelled  out  while  the  ground  is  frozen.  Of 
course,  the  ground  taken  out  is  thawed  by  building 
fires,  and  when  the  thaw  comes  and  water  rushes 
in  they  set  their  sluices  and  wash  the  dirt.    Two  of 


98 


Golden  Alaska. 


our  fellows  thought  a  small  bird  in  the  hand  worth 
a  large  one  in  the  bush,  and  sold  their  claims  for 
$45,000,  getting  $4,500  down,  and  the  remainder  to 
be  paid  in  monthly  installments  of  $10,000  each. 
The  purchasers  had  no  more  than  $5,000  paid. 
They  were  twenty  days  thawing  and  getting  out  dirt. 
Then  there  was  no  water  to  sluice  with,  but  one 
fellow  made  a  rocker,  and  in  ten  days  took  out  the 
$10,000  for  the  first  installment.  So,  tunnelling  and 
rocking,  they  took  out  $40,000  before  there  was 
water  to  sluice  with." 


LEGAL  ASPEXrr  OF  ALASKA* 


Commissioner  Hermann,  of  the  General  Land  Of- 
fice, has  announced  that  the  following  laws  of  the 
United  States  extend  over  Alaska,  where  the  general 
land  laws  do  not  apply : 

First — ^The  mineral  land  laws  of  the  United  States. 

Second — Town-site  laws,  which  provide  for  the 
incorporation  of  town-sites  and  acquirement  of  title 
thereto  from  the  United  States  Government  by  the 
town-site  trustees. 


Golden  Alaska. 


99 


Third — ^The  laws  providing  for  trade  and  manu- 
factures, giving  each  qualified  person  i6o  acres  of 
land  in  a  square  and  compact  form. 

The  coal  land  regulations  are  distinct  from  the 
mineral  regulations  or  laws,  an "  as  in  the  case  of 
thfj  general  land  laws,  Alaska  is  expressly  exempt 
from  their  jurisdiction. 

On  the  part  of  Canada,  however,  the  provisions  of 
the  Real  Property  act  of  the  Northwest  Territories 
will  be  extended  to  the  Yukon  country  by  an  order 
in  council,  a  register  will  be  appointed,  and  a  land 
title  office  will  be  established. 

The  act  approved  May  17,  1884,  providing  a  civil 
government  for  Alaska,  has  this  language  as  to 
mines  and  mining  privileges : 

"The  laws  of  the  United  States  relating  to  min- 
ing claims  and  rights  incidental  thereto  shall,  on 
and  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  be  in  full  force 
and  eflfect  in  said  district  of  Alaska,  subject  to  such 
regulations  as  may  be  made  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  and  approved  by  the  President,"  and 
"parties  who  have  located  mines  or  mining  priv- 
ileges therein,  under  the  United  States  laws  ap- 
plicable to  the  public  domain,  or  have  occupied  or 
improved  or  exercised  acts  of  ownership  over  such 
claims,  shall  not  be  disturbed  therein,  but  shall  be 
allowed  to  perfect  title  by  payment  so' provided  for." 


100 


Golden  Alaska. 


There  is  still  more  general  authority.  Without 
the  special  authority,  the  act  of  July  4,  1866,  says: 
"AH  valuable  mineral  deposits  in  lands  belonging  to 
the  United  States,  both  surveyed  and  unsurveyed, 
are  hereby  declared  to  be  free  and  open  to  explora- 
tion and  purchase,  and  lands  in  which  these  are 
found  to  occupation  and  purchase  by  citizens  of  the 
United  States  and  by  those  who  have  declared  an 
intention  to  become  such,  under  the  rules  prescribed 
by  law  and  according  to  local  customs  or  rules  of 
miners  in  the  several  mining  districts,  so  far  as  the 
same  are  applicable  and  not  inconsistent  with  the 
laws  of  the  United  States." 

The  patenting  of  mineral  lands  in  Alaska  is  not 
a  new  thing,  for  that  work  has  been  going  on,  as 
the  cases  have  come  in  from  time  to  time,  since 

1884. 

One  of  the  difficulties  that  local  capitalists  find  in 
their  negotiations  for  purchase  of  mining  properties 
on  the  Yukon  is  the  lack  of  authenticated  records 
of  owners  of  claims.  Different  practices  prevail  on 
the  two  sides  of  the  line  and  cause  more  or  less  con- 
fusion. The  practice  has  been  at  most  of  the  new 
camps  to  call  a  miners'  meeting  at  which  one  of  the 
parties  was  elected  recorder,  and  he  proceeded  to 
enter  the  bearings  of  stakes  and  natural  marks  to 
define  claims.'   Sometimes  the  recorder  would  give 


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l\ 


Golden  Alaska. 


103 


a  receipt  for  a  fee  allowed  by  common  consent  for 
recording,  and  also  keep  a  copy  for  future  reference, 
but  in  a  majority  of  cases  even  this  formality  was 
dispensed  with,  and  the  only  record  kept  was  the 
rough  minutes  made  at  the  time.  . 

On  the  Canadian  side  a  different  state  of  affairs 
exists.  The  Dominion  Government  has  sent  a  com- 
missioner who  is  empowered  to  report  olTiciaiily  all 
claims,  and  while  no  certificate  is  issued  to  the  own- 
ers thereof,  properties  are  thoroughly  defined  and 
their  metes  and  bounds  established.  The  commis- 
sioner in  the  Klondike  district,  whose  name  is  Con- 
stantine,  also  exercises  semi-judicial  functions,  and 
settles  disputes  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  appeal  lying 
to  the  Ottawa  Government. 

As  to  courts  and  the  execution  of  civil  and  criminal 
law  generally,  none  were  existent  in  the  upper  Yu- 
kon Valley  on  the  American  side  of  the  line  during 
1897.  The  nearest  United  States  judge  was  at  Sit- 
ka. At  Circle  City  and  other  centers  of  population 
the  people  had  organized  into  a  sort  of  town-meet- 
ing for  the  few  public  matters  required;  and  a  sort 
of  vigilance  committee  took  the  place  of  constituted 
authority  and  police.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however, 
the  people  were  quiet  and  law-abiding  and  little  need 
for  the  machinery  of  law  is  likely  to  arise  before 
courts,  etc.,  are  set  up.    A  movement  toward  send- 


I04 


Golden  Alaska. 


ing  a  garrison  of  United  States  troops  thither  was 
vetoed  by  the  War  Department. 

Canada,  however,  awoke  to  the  realization  that 
her  interests  were  in  jeopardy,  and  took  early  steps 
to  profit  by  the  wealth  which  had  been  discovered 
within  her  borders  and  the  international  business 
that  resulted.  The  natural  feeling  among  the  Ca- 
nadians was,  and  is,  that  the  property  belongs  to 
the  Canadian  public,  and  that  no  good  reason  exists 
why  the  mineral  and  other  wealth  should  be  ex- 
hausted at  once,  mainly  by  outsiders,  as  has  largely 
happened  in  the  case  of  Canada's  forests.  A  pro- 
hibitory policy  was  urged  by  some,  but  this  seemed 
neither  wise  nor  practicable;  and  the  Dominion 
Government  set  at  work  to  save  as  large  a  share  as 
it  could.  As  there  are  gold  fields  on  the  Alaska 
side  of  the  line,  and-  the  approaches  lie  through 
United  States  territory,  a  spirit  of  reciprocal  accom- 
modation was  necessary.  One  difficulty  was 
averted  last  year  by  President  Qeveland's  veto 
of  the  Immigration  bill,  one  provision  of  which 
would  have  prevented  Canadian  laborers  drawing 
wages  in  this  country,  and  probably  would  have  pro- 
voked a  retaliatory  act. 

Canada  has  already  placed  customs  officers  on  the 
passes  and  at  the  Yukon  crossing  of  the  boundarv 
to  collect  customs  duties  not  only  on  merchandise 


■ii 


-^  ^ 


Golden  Alaska. 


los 


but  on  miners'  personal  outfits.  There  is  practically 
no  exception,  and  the  duty  comes  below  20  per  cent, 
on  but  few  articles.  On  most  of  the  goods  the  duty 
is  from  30  to  35  per  cent.,  and  in  several  instances 
higher,  but  the  matter  may  be  very  simply  ad- 
justed by  purchasing  tools  and  outfits  in  Victoria 
or  Vancouver,  for  thus  far  the  United  States  has 
placed  no  corresponding  obstruction  in  the  way  of 
Canadian  travellers  to  the  gold-fields,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  has  made  Dyea  a  sub-port  of  entry,  largely 
to  accommodate  British  transportation  lines.  The 
Canadian  Government  is  represented  in  that  region 
now  only  by  customs  officers  and  20  mounted  police, 
but  it  is  taking  steps  to  garrison  the  whole  upper 
Yukon  Valley  with  its  mounted  police — a  body  of 
officers  whose  functions  are  half  military,  half  civil, 
and  which,  it  may  as  well  be  conceded  once  for  all, 
cannot  be  trifled  with.  There  is  no  question  but 
that  they  will  do  their  level  best  to  enforce  the  laws 
to  the  utmost.  The  commander  of  each  detachment 
will  be  constituted  a  magistrate  of  limited  powers, 
so  that  civil  examinations  and  trials  may  be  speedily 
conducted. 

The  plan  is  to  erect  a  strong  post  a  short  distance 
north  of  the  sixtieth  degree  of  latitude,  just  above 
the  northern  boundary  of  British  Columbia,  and  be- 
yond the  head  of  the  Lynn  Canal,  where  the  Chil- 


aS 


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io6 


Golden  Alaska. 


koot  Pass  and  the  White  Pass  converge.  This  post 
will  command  the  southern  entrance  to  the  whole 
of  that  territory.  Further  on  small  police  posts  will 
be  estabhshed,  about  fifty  miles  apart,  down  to  Fort 
Selkirk,  while  another  general  post  will  patrol  the 
river  near  the  international  boundary,  with  head- 
quarters, probably,  in  the  Klondike  valley. 

The  mining  regulations  of  Canada,  applying  to 
the  Yukon  placer  claims,  are  as  follows: 

"Bar  diggings"  shall  mean  any  part  of  a  river 
over  which  water  extends  when  the  water  is  in  its 
flooded  state  and  which  is  not  covered  at  low  water. 
Mines  on  benches  shall  be  known  as  "bench  dig- 
gings," and  shall  for  the  purpose  of  defining  the  size 
of  such  claims  be  excepted  from  dry  diggings.  "Dry 
diggings"  shall  mean  any  mine  over  which  a  river 
never  extends.  "Miner"  shall  mean  a  male  or  fe- 
male over  the  age  of  eighteen,  but  not  under  that 
age.  "Claim"  shall  mean  the  personal  right  of 
property  in  a  placer  mine  or  diggings  during  the 
time  for  which  the  grant  of  such  mine  or  diggings 
is  made.  "Legal  post"  shall  mean  a  stake  standing 
not  less  than  lour  feet  above  the  ground  and  squared 
on  four  sides  for  at  least  one  foot  from  the  top. 
"Gose  season"  shall  mean  this  period  of  the  year 
during  which  placer  mining  is  generally  suspended. 
The  period  to  be  fixed  by  the  gold  commissioner 


u 


r*"^9*w  ■■.■5'- ^.'-  ^  *" 


.  "■•  "^l^f^^^W ■*  ,';vTW-'.'  ^'--^  Jk-fjSV .^.ijiJW,';  W^^Sil 


/ 


^"y^':: 


Golden  Alaska. 


109 


I 


in  whose  district  the  claim  is  situated.  "Locality" 
shall  mean  the  territory  along  a  river  (tributary  of 
the  Yukon)  and  its  affluents.  "Mineral"  shall  in- 
clude all  minerals  whatsoever  other  than  coal. 

1.  Bar  diggings.  A  strip  of  land  100  feet  wide 
at  highwater  mark  arid  thence  extending  into  the 
river  to  its  lowest  water  level. 

2.  The  sides  of  a  claim  for  bar  diggings  shall  be 
two  parallel  lines  run  as  nearly  as  possible  at  right 
angles  to  the  stream,  and  shall  be  marked  by  four 
legal  posts,  one  at  each  end  of  the  claim  at  or  about 
high  water  mark;  also  one  at  each  end  of  the  claim 
at  or  about  the  edge  of  the  water.  One  of  the  posts 
shall  be  legibly  marked  with  the  name  of  the  miner 
and  the  date  upon  which  the  claim  is  staked. 

3.  Dry  diggings  shall  be  100  feet  square  and  shall 
have  placed  at  each  of  its  four  comers  a  legal  post, 
upon  one  of  which  shall  be  legibly  marked  the  name 
of  the  miner  and  the  date  upon  which  the  claim  was 
staked. 

4.  Creek  and  river  claims  shall  be  500  feet  long, 
measured  in  the  direction  of  the  general  course  of 
the  stream,  and  shall  extend  in  width  from  base  to 
base  of  the  hill  or  bench  on  each  side,  but  when  the 
hills  or  benches  are  less  than  100  feet  apart  the 
claim  may  be  100  feet  in  depth.  The  sides  of  a 
claim  shall  be  two  parallel  lines  run  as  nearly  as 


no 


Golden  Alaska. 


possible  at  right  angles  to  the  stream.  The  sides 
shall  be  marked  with  legal  posts  at  or  about  the 
edge  of  the  water  and  at  the  rear  boundary  of  the 
claim.  One  of  the  legal  posts  at  the  stream  shall 
be  legibly  marked  with  the  name  of  the  miner  and 
the  date  upon  which  the  claim  was  staked. 

5.  Bench  claims  shall  be  100  feet  square. 

6.  In  defining  the  size  of  claims  they  shall  be 
measured  horizontally,  irrespective  of  inequalities  on 
the  surface  of  the  ground. 

7.  If  any  person  or  persons  shall  discover  a  new 
mine  and  such  discovery  shall  be  established  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  gold  commissioner,  a  claim  for 
the  bar  diggings  750  feet  in  length  may  be  granted. 
A  new  stratum  of  auriferous  earth  or  gravel  situated 
in  a  locality  where  the  claims  are  abandoned  shall 
for  this  purpose  be  deemed  a  new  mine,  although 
the  same  locality  shall  have  previously  been  worked 
at  a  different  level. 

8.  The  forms  of  application  for  a  grant  for  placer 
mining  and  the  grant  of  the  same  shall  be  according 
to  those  made,  provided  or  supplied  by  the  gold 
conunissioner. 

9.  A  claim  shall  be  recorded  with  the  gold  com- 
missioner in  whose  district  it  is  situated  within  three 
days  after  the  location  thereof  if  it  is  located  within 
ten  miles  of  the  commissioner's  office.     One  day 


.) 


Golden  Alaska. 


Ill 


1 


extra  shall  be  allowed  for  making  such  record  for 
every  additional  ten  miles  or  fraction  thereof. 

10.  In  the  event  of  the  absence  of  the  gold  com- 
missioner from  his  office,  entry  for  a  claim  may  be 
granted  by  any  person  whom  he  may  appoint  to 
perform  his  duties  in  his  absence. 

11.  Entry  shall  not  be  granted  for  a  claim  which 
has  not  been  staked  by  the  applicant  in  person  in 
the  manner  specified  in  these  regulations.  An  affi- 
davit that  the  claim  was  staked  out  by  the  applicant 
shall  be  embodied  in  the  application. 

12.  An  entry  fee  of  $15  shall  be  charged  the  first 
year  and  an  annual  fee  of  $100  for  each  of  the  fol- 
lowing years. 

13.  After  recording  a  claim  the  removal  of  any 
post  by  the  holder  thereof  or  by  any  person  acting 
in  his  behalf  for  the  purpose  of  changing  the  boun- 
daries of  his  claim  shall  act  as  a  forfeiture  of  the 
claim. 

14.  The  entry  of  every  holder  of  a  grant  for 
placer  mining  must  be  renewed  and  his  receipt  re- 
linquished and  replaced  every  year,  the  entry  fee  be- 
ing paid  each  year. 

15.  No  miner  shall  receive  a  grant  for  more  than 
one  mining  claim  in  the  same  locality;  but  the  same 
miner  may  hold  any  number  of  claims  by  purchase, 
and  any  number  of  miners  may  unite  to  work  their 


liii 


■ipi^ 


113 


Golden  Alaska. 


claims  in  common  upon  such  terms  as  they  may  ar- 
range, provided  such  agreement  be  registered  with 
the  Gold  Commissioner  and  a  fee  of  $5  for  each 
registration. 

16.  Any  miner  may  sell,  mortgage,  or  dispose  of 
his  claims,  provided  such  disposal'  be  registered  with 
and  a  fee  of  $2  paid  to  the  Gold  Commissioner. 

17.  Every  miner  shall,  during  the  continuance  of 
his  grant,  have  the  exclusive  right  of  entry  upon  his 
own  claim  for  the  miner-like  working  thereof,  and 
the  construction  of  a  residence  thereon,  and  shall  be 
entitled  exclusively  to  all  the  proceeds  realized  there- 
from; but  he  shall  have  no  surface  rights  therein, 
and  the  Gold  Commissioner  may  grant  to  the  hold- 
ers of  adjacent  claims  such  rights  of  entry  thereon 
as  may  be  absolutely  necessary  for  the  working  of 
)heir  claims,  upon  such  terms  as  may  to  him  seem 
reasonable.  He  may  also  grant  permits  to  miners 
to  cut  timber  thereon  for  their  own  use,  upon  pay- 
ment of  the  dues  prescribed  by  the  regulations  in 
that  behalf. 

18.  Every  miner  shall  be  entitled  to  the  use  of  so 
much  of  the  water  naturally  flowing  through  or 
past  his  claim,  and  not  already  lawfully  appropriated 
as  shall  in  the  opinion  of  the  Gold  Commissioner 
be  necessary  for  the  due  working  thereof,  and  shall 
be  entitled  to  drain  his  own  claim  free  of  charge. 


'    \ 


Golden  Alaska. 


"3 


19.  A  claim  shall  be  deemed  to  be  abandoned 
and  open  to  occupation  and  entry  by  any  person 
when  the  same  shall  have  remained  unworked  on 
working  days  by  the  grantee  thereof  or  by  some 
person  in  his  behalf  for  the  space  of  t-eventy-two 
hours  unless  sickness  or  some  other  reasonable 
cause  may  be  shown  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Gold 
Commissioner,  or  unless  the  grantee  is  absent  on 
leave  given  by  the  commissioner,  and  the  Gold  Com- 
missioner, upon  obtaining  satisfactory  evidence  that 
this  provision  is  not  being  complied  with,  may  can- 
cel the  entry  given  for  the  claim. 

20.  If  the  land  upon  which  a  claim  has  been  lo- 
cated is  not  the  property  of  the  Crown  it  will  be 
necessary  for  the  person  who  applies  for  entry  to 
furnish  proof  that  he  has  acquired  from  the  owner 
of  the  land  the  surface  right  before  entry  can  be 
granted. 

21.  If  the  occupier  of  the  lands  has  not  received 
a  patent  therefor,  the  purchase  money  of  the  surface 
rights  must  be  paid  to  the  Crown  and  a  patent  of 
the  surface  rights  will  issue  to  the  party  who  ac- 
quired the  mining  rights.  The  money  so  collected 
will  either  be  refunded  to  the  occupier  of  the  land 
when  he  is  entitled  to  a  patent  therefor  or  will  be 
credited  to  him  on  account  of  payment  for  land. 

22.  When  the  party  obtaining  the  mining  rights 


IP^"^ 


114 


Golden  Alaska. 


cannot  make  an  arrangement  with  the  owner  there- 
of for  the  acquisition  of  the  surface  rights  it  shall  be 
lawful  for  him  to  give  notice  to  the  owner  or  his 
agents  or  the  occupier  to  appoint  an  arbitrator  to 
act  with  another  arbitrator  named  by  him  in  order 
to  award  the  amount  of  compensation  to  which  the 
owner  or  occupant  shalt  be  entitled; 

The  royalty  and  reserve  additions  to  this,  made 
since  the  recent  discoveries  and  on  account  of  them, 
are  as  follows: 

1.  A  royalty  of  10  per  cent  will  be  collected  for 
the  government  on  all  amounts  taken  out  of  any  one 
claim  up  to  $500  a  week,  and  after  that  20  per  cent. 
This  royalty  will  be  collected  on  gold  taken  from 
streams  already  being  worked,  but  in  regard  to  all 
future  discoveries  the  government  proposes 

2.  That  upon  every  river  and  creek  where  mining 
locations  shall  be  staked  out  every  alternate  claim 
shall  be  the  property  of  the  government. 

These  regulations,  say  the  Canadians,  are  made 
with  the  purpose  of  developing  a  country 
which  is  capable  of  supporting  a  large  per- 
manent population  and  varied  industries.  Whether 
they  can  be  enforced  remains  to  be  seen, 
and  difficulties  will  certainly  attend  the  col- 
lection of  a  royalty  on  gold-dust.  The  effect  of 
these  regulations,  it  is  believed  by  the  authors,  will 


Golden  Alaska. 


"5 


be  to  encourage  permanent  settlement  and  the  treat- 
ment of  mining  as  a  regular  industry  and  not  simply 
as  an  adventurous  speculation.  Another  effect,  un- 
doubtedly, will  be  to  cause  immigrants,  including 
Canadians  themselves,  to  prospect  and  mine  on  the 
United  States  side  of  the  line,  whenever  they  have 
an  equal  opportunity  for  success. 

The  boundary  dispute  does  not  as  yet  seriously 
affect  the  question  of  rights  and  privileges  in  the 
new  gold  regions,  as  the  disputed  part  of  the  line, 
southeast  of  Alaska,  runs  through  a  region  not  yet 
occupied,  and  practically  the  whole  of  Lynn  Canal 
is  administered  by  the  United  States,  and  the  Ca- 
nadians act  as  though  it  were  decided  that  their 
boundary  was  farther  inland  than  some  of  them 
pretend.  From  Mt.  St.  Elias  north,  the  141st  me- 
ridian is  the  undisputed  boundary,  and  this  has  been 
fixed  by  an  international  commission,  crossing  the 
Yukon  at  a  marked  point  near  the  mouth  of  Forty 
Mile  Creek,  nearly  or  quite  all  of  the  diggings 
upon  which  are  within  Alaskan  territory,  as  also 
are  the  valuable  placers  on  Birch  and  Miller  creeks. 
It  will  be  a  matter  of  extreme  difficulty  along  this 
part  of  the  boundary  to  prevent  smuggling,  to  dis- 
cover and  collect  Canadian  royalties,  and  to  capture 
criminals  except  by  international  cooperation. 


Wipwilffp 


mmmiF^m. 


nur/rnn''  ihuiiiwmijr  i»"'u«'Aww|iji^»i?,»,»' 


ii6 


Golden  Alaska. 


UNITED  STATES  MINING  LAWS. 


TITLE  XXXII,  CHAPTER  6. 

Section  2318.  In  all  cases  lands  valuable  for  min- 
erals shall  be  reserved  from  sale,  except  as  other- 
wise expressly  directed  by  law. 

Sec.  2319.  All  valuable  mineral  deposits  in  lands 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  both  surveyed  and 
unsurveyed,  are  hereby  declared  to  be  free  and  open 
to  exploration  and  purchase,  and  the  lands  in  which 
they  are  found  to  occupation  and  purchase,  by  citi- 
zens of  the  United  States  and  those  who  have  de- 
clared their  intention  to  become  such,  under  regu- 
lations prescribed  by  law,  and  according  to  the 
local  customs  or  rules  of  miners  in  the  several  min- 
ing districts,  so  far  as  the  same  are  applicable  and 
not  inconsistent  with  the  laws  of  the  United  States. 

Sec.  2320.  Mining-claims  upon  veins  or  lodes  of 
quartz  or  other  rock  in  place  bearing  gold,  silver, 
cinnabar,  lead,  tin,  copper,  or  other  valuable  de- 
posits, heretofore  located,  shall  be  governed  as  to 
length  along  the  vein  or  lode  by  the  customs,  regu- 
lations, and  laws  in  force  at  the  date  of  their  loca- 
tion. A  mining-claim  located  after  the  tenth  day 
of  May,  1872,  whether  located  by  one  or  more  per- 


5^?r' . 


SPraPi 


Golden  Alaska. 


117 


sons,  may  equal,  but  shall  not  exceed  1,500  feet 
in  length  along  the  vein  or  lode;  but  no  location 
of  a  mining-claim  shall  be  made  until  the  discovery 
of  the  vein  or  lode  within  the  limits  of  the  c.'aim 
located.  No  claim  shall  exceed  more  than 
300  feet  on  each  side  of  the  middle  of  the 
vein  at  the  surface,  nor  shall  any  claim  be  limited 
by  any  mining  regulation  to  less  than  twenty-five 
feet  on  each  side  of  the  middle  of  the  vein  at  the 
surface,  except  where  adverse  rights  existing  on  the 
tenth  day  of  May,  1872,  render  such  limitation  nec- 
essary. The  end  lines  of  each  claim  shall  be  parallel 
to  each  other. 

Sec.  2321.  Proof  of  citizenship,  under  this  chap- 
ter, may  consist,  in  the  case  of  an  individual,  of  his 
own  affidavit  thereof;  in  the  case  of  an  association  of 
persons  unincorporated,  of  the  affidavit  of  their  au- 
thorized agent,  made  on  his  own  knowledge,  or 
upon  information  and  belief;  and  in  the  case  of  a 
corporation  organized  under  the  laws  of  the  United 
States,  or  of  any  State  or  Territory  thereof,  by  the 
filing  of  a  certified  copy  of  their  charter  or  certificate 
of  incorporation. 

Sec.  2322.  The  locators  of  all  mining  locations 
heretofore  made  or  which  shall  hereafter  be  made, 
on  any  mineral  vein,  lode,  or  ledge,  situated  on  the 
public  domain,  their  heirs  and  assigns,  where  no  ad- 


f"  ™'  '^     '  ^  " 


•■'V^r-'-^i^^r-t:^^ 


xi8 


Golden  Alaska. 


verse  claim  exists  on  the  tenth  day  of  May, 
1872,  so  long  as  they  comply  with  the  laws 
of  the  United  States,  and  with  State,  Ter- 
ritorial and  local  regulations  not  in  conflict  with 
the  laws  of  the  United  States  governing  their  pos- 
sessory title,  ihall  have  the  exclusive  right  of  posses- 
sion and  enjoyment  of  all  the  surface  included  within 
the  lines  of  their  locations,  and  of  all  veins,  lodes, 
and  ledges  throughout  their  entire  depth,  the  top 
or  apex  of  which  lies  inside  of  such  surface-lines  ex- 
tended downward  vertically,  although  such  veins, 
lodes,  or  ledges  may  so  far  depart  from  a  perpen- 
dicular in  their  course  downward  as  to  extend  out- 
side the  vertical  side-lines  of  such  surface  locations. 
But  their  right  of  possession  to  such  outside  parts 
of  such  veins  or  ledges  shall  be  confined  to  such 
portions  thereof  as  lie  between  vertical  planes 'drawn 
downward  as  above  described,  through  the  end-lines 
of  their  locations,  so  continued  in  their  own  direction 
that  such  planes  will  intersect  such  exterior  parts 
of  such  veins  or  ledges.  And  nothing  in  this  sec- 
tion shall  authorize  the  locator  or  possessor  of  a 
vein  or  lode,  which  extends  in  its  downward  course 
beyond  the  vertical  lines  of  his  claim,  to  enter  upon 
the  surface  of  a  claim  owned  or  possessed  by  an- 
other. 
Sec.  2323.    Where  a  tunnel  is  run  for  the  devclop- 


\ 


Golden  Alaska. 


119 


V' 


ment  of  a  vein  or  lode,  or  for  the  discovery  of  mines, 
the  owners  of  such  tunnel  shall  have  the  right  of 
possession  of  all  veins  or  lodes  within  3,000 
feet  from  the  face  of  such  tunnel  on  the  line  thereof, 
not  previously  known  to  exist,  discovered  in  s"ch 
tunnel,  to  the  same  extent  as  if  discovered  from  the 
surface;  and  locations  on  the  line  of  such  tunnel  of 
veins  or  lodes  not  appearing  on  the  surface,  made 
by  other  parties  ater  the  commencement  of  the 
tunnel,  and  while  the  same  is  being  prosecuted  with 
reasonable  diligence,  shall  be  invalid;  but  failure  to 
prosecute  the  work  on  the  tunnel  for  six  months 
shall  be  considered  as  an  abandonment  of  the  right 
to  all  undiscovered  veins  on  the  line  of  such  tunnel. 
Sec.  2324.  The  miners  of  each  mining  district  may 
make  regulations  not  in  conflict  with  the  laws  of 
the  United  States,  or  with  the  laws  of  the  State  or 
Territory  in  which  the  district  is  situated,  govern- 
ing the  locAion,  manner  of  recording,  amount  of 
work  necessary  to  hold  possession  of  a  mining- 
claim,  subject  to  the  following  requirements:  The 
location  must  be  distinctly  marked  on  the  ground 
so  that  its  boundaries  can  be  readily  traced.  All 
records  of  mining-claims  hereafter  made  shall  con- 
tain the  name  or  names  of  the  locators,  the  date  of 
the  location,  and  such  a  description  of  the  claim  or 
claims  located,  by  reference  to  some  natural  object 


120 


Golden  Alaska. 


m 


or  permanent  monument,  as  will  identify  the  claim. 
On  each  claim  located  after  the  tenth  day  of  May, 
1872,  and  until  a  patent  has  been  issued  therefor, 
not  less  than  $100  worth  of  labor  shall  be  performed 
or  improvements  made  during  each  year.  On  all 
claims  located  prior  to  the  tenth  day  of  May,  1872, 
$10  worth  of  labor  shall  be  performed  or  improve- 
ments made  by  the  tenth  day  of  June,  1874,  and 
each  year  thereafter,  for  each  100  feet  in 
length  along  the  vein  until  a  patent  has  been 
issued  therefor;  but  where  such  claims  are  held  in 
common,  such  expenditure  may  be  made  upon  any 
one  claim;  and  upon  a  failure  to  comply  with  these 
conditions,  the  claim  or  mine  upon  which  such  fail- 
ure occurred  shall  be  open  to  relocation  in  the  same 
manner  as  if  no  location  of  the  same  had  ever  been 
made,  provided  that  the  original  locators,  their  heirs, 
assigns,  or  legal  representatives,  have  not  resumed 
work  upon  the  claim  after  failure  and  before  such 
location.  Upon  the  failure  of  any  one  of  several  co* 
owners  to  contribute  his  proportion  of  the  expendi- 
tures required  hereby,  the  co-owners  who  have  per- 
formed the  labor  or  made  the  improvements  may,  at 
the  expiration  of  the  year,  give  such  delinquent  co- 
owner  personal  notice  in  writing  or  notice  by  pub- 
lication in  the  newspaper  published  nearest  the 
claim,  for  at  least  once  a  week  for  ninety  days,  and  if 


Golden  Alaska. 


121 


at  the  expiration  of  ninety  days  after  such  notice  in 
writing  or  by  publication  such  delinquent  should  fail 
or  refuse  to  contribute  his  proportion  of  the  ex- 
penditure required  by  this  section,  his  interest  in 
the  claim  shall  become  the  property  of  his  co-own- 
ers who  have  made  the  required  expenditures. 

Sec.  2325.  A  patent  for  any  land  claimed  and 
located  for  valuable  deposits  may  be  obtained  in  the 
following  manner:  Any  person,  association,  or  cor- 
poration authorized  to  locate  a  claim  under  this 
chapter,  having  claimed  and  located  a  piece  of  land 
for  such  purposes,  who  has,  or  have,  complied  with 
the  terms  of  this  chapter,  may  file  in  the  proper 
land-office  an  application  for  a  patent,  under  oath, 
showing  such  compliance,  together  with  a  plat  and 
field-notes  of  the  claim  or  claims  in  common,  made 
by  or  under  the  direction  of  the  United  States  Sur- 
veyor-General, showing  accurately  ♦^he  boundaries 
of  the  claim  or  claims,  which  shall  be  distinctly 
marked  by  monuments  on  the  ground,  and  shall 
post  a  copy  of  such  plat,  together  with  a  notice  of 
such  application  for  a  patent,  in  a  conspicuous  place 
on  the  land  embraced  in  such  plat  previous  to  the 
filing  of  the  application  for  a  patent,  and  shall  file 
an  affidavit  of  at  least  two  persons  that  such  notice 
has  been  duly  posted,  and  shall  file  a  copy  of  the 
notice  in  such  land-office,  and  shall  thereupon  be 


122 


Golden  Alas;  jl 


entitled  to  a  patent  for  the  land,  in  a  manner  fol- 
lowing: The  register  of  the  land-office,  upon  the 
filing  of  such  application,  plat,  field-notes,  notices, 
and  affidavits,  shall  publish  a  notice  that  such  ap- 
plication has  been  made,  for  the  period  of  sixty 
days,  in  a  newspaper  to  be  by  him  designated  as 
published  nearest  to  such  claim;  and  he  shall  also 
post  such  notice  in  his  office  for  the  same  period. 
The  claimant  at  the  time  of  filing  this  application, 
or  at  any  time  thereafter,  within  the  sixty  days  of 
publication,  shall  file  with  the  register  a  certificate 
of  the  United  States  Surveyor-General  that 
$500  worth  of  labor  has  been  expended  or 
improvements  made  upon  the  claim  by  himself  or 
grantors;  that  the  plat  is  correct,  with  sudi  further 
description  by  such  reference  to  natural  objects  or 
permanent  monuments  as  shall  identify  the  claim, 
and  furnish  an  accurate  description,  to  be  incorpo- 
rated in  the  patent.  At  the  expiration  of  the  sixty 
days  of  publication,  the  claimant  shall  file  his  affi- 
davit, showing  that  the  plat  and  notice  have  been 
posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  on  the  claim  during 
such  period  of  publication.  If  no  adverse  claim 
^all  have  been  filed  with  the  register  and  the  re- 
ceiver of  the  proper  land-office  at  the  expiration  of 
the  sixty  days  of  publication,  it  shall  be  assumed 
that  the  applicant  is  entitled  to  a  patent,  upon  the 


Golden  Alaska. 


123 


payment  to  the  proper  officer  of  $5  per 
acre,  and  that  no  adverse  claim  exists;  and  thereafter 
no  objection  from  third  parties  to  the  issuance  of 
a  patent  shall  be  heard,  except  it  be  shown  that  the 
applicant  has  failed  to  comply  with  the  terms  of  this 
chapter. 

Sec.  2326.  Where  an  adverse  claim  is  filed  dur- 
ing the  period  of  publication,  it  shall  be  upon  oath 
of  the  person  or  persons  making  the  same,  and  shall 
show  the  nature,  boundaries,  and  extent  of  such  ad- 
verse claim,  and  all  proceedings,  except  the  publi- 
cation of  notice  and  making  and  filing  of  the  affi- 
davit thereof,  shall  be  stayed  until  the  controversy 
shall  have  been  settled  or  decided  by  a  court  of 
competent  jurisdiction,  or  the  adverse  claim  waived. 
It  shall  be  the' duty  of  the  adverse  claimant,  within 
thirty  days  after  filing  his  claim,  to  commence  pro- 
ceedings in  a  court  of  competent  jurisdiction,  to  de- 
termine the  question  of  the  right  of  possession,  and 
prosecute  the  same  with  reasonable  diligence  to  final 
judgment;  and  a  failure  so  to  do  shall  be  a  waiver 
of  his  adverse  claim.  After  such  judgment  shall 
have  been  rendered,  the  party  entitled  to  the  posses- 
sion of  the  claim,  or  any  portion  thereof,  may,  witli- 
out  giving  further  notice,  file  a  certified  copy  of  the 
judgment-roll  with  the  register  of  the  land-office, 
together  with  the  certificate  of  the  surveyor-general 


124 


Golden  Alaska. 


that  the  requisite  amount  of  labor  has  been  ex- 
pended or  improvements  made  thereon,  and  the  de- 
scription required  in  other  cases,  and  shall  pay  to 
the  receiver  $5  per  acre  for  his  claim,  to- 
gether with  the  proper  fees,  whereupon  the  whole 
proceedings  and  the  judgment-roll  shall  be  certified 
by  the  register  to  the  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  OfHce,  and  a  patent  shall  issue  thereon  for  the 
claim,  or  such  portion  thereof  as  the  applicant  shall 
appear,  from  the  decision  of  the  court,  to  rightly 
possess.  If  it  appears  from  the  decision  of  the  court 
that  several  parties  are  entitled  to  separate  and  dif- 
ferent portions  of  the  claim,  each  party  may  pay 
for  his  portion  of  the  claim  with  the  proper  fees, 
and  file  the  certificate  and  description  by  the  sur- 
veyor-general, whereupon  the  register  shall  certify 
the  proceedings  and  judgment-roll  to  the  Commis- 
sioner of  the  General  Land  Office,  as  in  the  preced- 
ing case,  and  patents  shall  issue  to  the  several  par- 
ties according  to  their  respective  rights.  Nothing 
herein  contained  shall  be  construed  to  prevent  tRe 
alienation  of  a  title  conveyed  by  a  patent  for  a  min- 
ing-claim to  any  person  whatever. 

Sec.  2327.  The  description  of  vein  or  lode  claims, 
upon  surveyed  lands,  shall  designate  the  location  of 
the  claim  with  reference  to  the  lines  of  the  public 
surveys,  but  need  not  conform  therewith;  but  where 


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Golden  Alaska. 


127 


a  patent  shall  be  issued  for  claims  upon  unsurveyed 
lands,  the  surveyor-general,  in  extending  the  sur- 
veys, shall  adjuf^t  the  same  to  the  boundaries  of  such 
patented  claim,  according  to  the  plat  or  description 
thereof,  but  so  as  in  no  case  to  interfere  with  or 
change  the  location  of  any  such  patented  claim. 

Sec.  2328.  Applications  for  patents  for  mining- 
claims  under  former  laws  now  pending  may  be  pros- 
ecuted to  a  final  decision  in  the  General  Land 
Office;  but  in  such  cases  where  adverse  rights  arc  not 
affected  thereby,  patents  may  issue  in  pursuance  of 
the  provisions  of  this  chapter;  and  all  patents  for 
mining-claims  upon  veins  or  lodes  heretofore  issued 
shall  convey  all  the  rights  and  privileges  conferred 
by  this  chapter  where  no  adverse  rights  existed  on 
the  tenth  day  of  May,  1872. 

Sec.  2329.  Claims  usually  called  "placers,"  in- 
cluding all  forms  of  deposit,  excepting  vein*  of 
quartz,  or  other  rock  in  place,  shall  be  subject  to 
entry  and  patent,  under  like  circumstances  and  con- 
ditions, and  upon  similar  proceedings,  as  are  pro- 
vided for  vein  or  lode  claims;  but  where  the  lands 
have  been -pitevibusi^  stirveyed  by  the  United  States, 
the  entry  ih  its  exterior  limits  shall  conform  to  the 
legal  subdivisions  of  the  public  lands. 

Sec.  2330.  Legal  subdivisions  of  forty  acres  may 
be  subdivided  into  ten-acre  tracts;  and  two  or  more 


128 


Golden  Alaska. 


persons,  or  associations  of  persons,  having  contigu- 
ous claims  of  any  size,  although  such  claims  may 
be  less  than  ten  acres  each,  may  make  joint  entry 
thereof;  but  no  location  of  a  placer-claim,  made  after 
the  ninth  day  of  July,  1870,  shall  exceed  160  acres 
for  any  one  person  or  association  of  persons,  which 
location  shall  conform  to  the  United  States  surveys ; 
and  nothing  in  this  section  contained  shall  defeat  or 
impair  any  bona  fide  preemption  or  homestead 
claim  upon  agricultural  lands,  or  authorize  the  sale 
of  the  improvements  of  any  bona  fide  settler  to  any 
purchaser. 

Sec.  2331.  Where  placer-claims  are  upon  sur- 
veyed lands,  and  conform  to  legal  subdivisions,  no 
further  survey  or  plat  shall  be  required,  and  all 
placer-mining  claims  located  after  the  tenth  day  of 
May,  1872,  shall  conform  as  near  as  practicable 
with  the  United  States  system"  of  public-land 
surveys,  and  the  rectangular  subdivisions  of  such 
surveys,  and  no  such  location  shall  include 
more  than  twenty  acres  for  each  individual 
claimant;  but  where  placer-claims  can  not  be  con- 
formed to  legal  subdivisions,  survey  and  plat  shall 
be  made  as  on  unsurveyed  lands;  and  where  by  the 
segregation  of  mineral  lands  in  any  legal  subdivision 
a  quantity  of  agricultural  land  less  than  forty  acres 
remains,  such  fractional  portion  of  agricultural  land 


Golden  Alaska. 


i2g 


may  be  entered  by  any  party  qualified  by  law,  for 
homestead  or  preemption  purposes. 

Sec.  2332.  Where  such  person  or  association, 
they  and  their  grantors,  have  held  and  worked  their 
claims  for  a  period  equal  to  the  time  prescribed  by 
the  statute  of  limitations  for  mining-claims  of  the 
State  or  Territory  where  the  same  maybe  situated,  evi- 
dence of  such  possession  and  working  of  the  claims 
for  such  period  shall  be  sufficient  to  establish  a  right 
to  a  patent  thereto  under  this'  chapter,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  any  adverse  claim;  but  nothing  in  this  chap- 
ter shall  be  deemed  to  impair  any  lien  which  may 
have  attached  in  any  way  whatever  to  any  mining- 
claim  or  property  thereto  attached  prior  to  the  issu- 
ance of  a  patent. 

Sec.  2333.  Where  the  same  person,  association, 
or  corporation  is  in  possession  of  a  placer-claim,  and 
also  a  vein  or  lode  includecf  within  the  boundaries 
thereof,  application  shall  be  made  for  a  patent  for 
the  placer-claim,  with  the  statement  that  it  includes 
such  vein  or  lode,  and  in  such  case  a  patent  shall 
issue  for  the  placer-claim,  subject  to  the  provisions 
of  this  chapter,  including  such  vein  or  lode,  upon 
the  payment  of  $5  per  acre  for  such  vein 
or  lode-claim,  and  twenty-five  feet  of  surface  on 
each  side  thereof.  The  remainder  of  the  placer- 
claim,  or  any  placer-claim  not  embracing  any  vein 


|5  r'^s^Mjjwvti'^j-i  ^ 


130 


Golden  Alaska. 


or  lode-claim,  shall  be  paid  for  at  the  rate  of  $2.50 
per  acre,  together  with  all  costs  of  proceedings;  and 
where  a  vein  or  lode,  such  as  is  described  in  Section 
2320,  is  known  to  exist  within  the  boundaries  of 
a  placer-claim,  an  application  for  a  patent  for  such 
placer-claim  which  does  not  include  an  application 
for  the  vein  or  lode-claim  shall  be  construed  as  a 
conclusive  declaration  that  the  claimant  of  the 
placer-claim  has  no  right  of  possession  of  the  vein 
or  lode  claim;  but  where  the  existence  of  a  vein  or 
lode  in  a  placer-claim  is  not  known,  a  patent  for  the 
placer-claim  shall  convey  all  valuable  mineral 
and  other  deposits  within  the  boundaries  thereof. 

Sec.  2334.  The  Surveyor-General  of  the  ^  "^  lited 
States  may  appoint  in  each  land-district  containing 
mineral  lands  as  many  competent  surveyors  as  shall 
apply  for  appointment  to  survey  mining-claims. 
The  expenses  of  the  survey  of  vein  or  lode  claims, 
and  the  survey  and  subdivision  of  placer-claims  into 
smaller  quantities  than  160  acres,  together  with 
the  cost  of  publications  of  notices,  shall  be 
paid  by  the  applicants,  and  they  shall  be  at 
liberty  to  obtain  the  same  at  the  most  reasonable 
rates,  and  they  shall  also  be  at  liberty  to  employ  any 
United  States  deputy  surveyor  to  make  the  sur-^'^y. 
The  Commissioner  of  the  General  Land  Office  shall 
also  have  power  to  establish  the  maximum  charges 


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r^-<>. 


Golden  Alaska.  131 

for  surveys  and  publication  of  notices  under  this 
chapter;  and,  in  case  of  txcessive  charges  for  pub- 
lication, he  may  designate  any  newspaper  published 
in  a  land-district  where  mines  are  situated  for  the 
publication  of  mining-notices  in  such  district,  and 
fix  the  rates  to  be  charged  by  such  paper;  and, 
to  the  end  that  the  Commissioner  may  be  fully  in- 
formed on  the  subject,  each  applicant  shall  file  with 
the  register  a  sworn  statement  of  all  charges  and 
fees  paid  by  such  applicant  for  publication  and  sur- 
veys, together  with  all  fees  and  money  paid  the 
register  and  the  receiver  of  the  land-office,  which 
statement  shall  be  transmitted,  with  the  other  papers 
in  the  case,  to  the  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office. 

Sec,  2335.  ^^^  affidavits  required  to  be  made  un- 
der tnis  chapter  may  be  verified  before  any  officer 
authorized  to  administer  oaths  within  the  land-dis- 
trict where  the  claims  may  be  situated,  and  all  tes- 
tiknony  and  proofs  may  be  taken  before  any  such 
officer,  and,  when  duly  certified  by  the  officer  taking 
the  same,  shall  have  the  same  force  and  effect  as  if 
taken  before  the  register  and  receiver  of  the  land- 
office.  In  cases  of  contest  as  to  the  mineral  or  agri- 
cultural character  of  land,  the  testimony  and  proofs 
may  be  taken  as  herein  provided  on  personal  no- 
tice of  at  least  ten  days  to  the  opposing  party;  or  if 


132 


Golden  Alaska. 


such  party  can  not  be  found,  then  by  publication  of 
at  least  once  a  week  for  thirty  days  in  a  newspaper, 
to  be  designated  1  '  '^-^  register  of  the  land-office  as 
published  nearest  to  location  of  such  land;  and 
the  register  shall  require  proof  that  such  notice  has 
been  given. 

Sec.  2336.  Where  two  or  more  veins  intersect 
or  cross  each  other,  priority  of  title  shall  govern, 
and  such  prior  location  shall  be  entitled  to  all  ore 
or  mineral  contained  within  the  space  of  intersec- 
tion; but  the  subsequent  location  shall  have  the  right 
of  way  through  the  space  of  intersection  for  the 
purposes  of  the  convenient  working  of  the  mine. 
And  where  two  or  more  veins  unite,  the  oldest  or 
prior  location  shall  take  the  vein  below  the  point 
of  union,  including  all  the  space  of  intersection. 

Sec.  2337.  Where  non-mineral  land  not  contigu- 
ous to  the  vein  or  lode  is  used  or  occupied  by  the 
proprietor  of  such  vein  or  lode  for  mining  ©r  mill- 
ing purposes,  st  :h  non-adjacent  surface-ground  may 
be  embraced  and  included  in  an  application  for  a 
patent  for  such  vein  or  lode,  and  the  same  may 
be  patented  therewith,  subject  to  th  >  same  prelim- 
inary requirements  as  to  survey  and  notice  as  are 
applicable  to  veins  or  lodes;  but  no  location  here- 
after made  of  such  non-adjacent  land  shall  exceed 
five  acres,  and  payment  for  the  same  must  be  made 


Golden  Alaska. 


133 


at  the  same  rate  as  fixed  by  this  chapter  for  the 
superficies  of  the  lode.  The  owner  of  a  quartz-mill 
or  reduction  works,  not  owning  a  mine  in  connec- 
tion therewith,  may  also  receive  a  patent  for  his  mill- 
site,  as  provided  in  this  section. 

Sec.  2338.  As  a  condition  of  sale,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  necessary  legislation  by  Congress,  the  local 
legislature  of  any  State  or  Territory  may  provide 
rules  for  working  mines,  involving  easements,  drain- 
age, and  other  necessary  means  to  their  complete 
development;  and  those  conditions  shall  be  fully  ex- 
pressed in  the  patent. 

Sec.  2339.  Whenever,  by  priority  of  possession, 
rights  to  the  use  of  watef  for  mining,  agricultural, 
manufacturing,  or  other  purposes,  have  vested  and 
accrued,  and  the  same  are  recognized  and  acknowl- 
edged by  the  local  customs,  laws,  and  the  decisions 
of  courts,  the  possessors  and  owners  of  such  vested 
rights  shall  be  maintained  and  protected  in  the  same; 
and  the  right  of  way  for  the  construction  of  ditches 
and  canals  for  the  purposes  herein  specified  is  ac- 
knowledged and  confirmed;  but  whenever  any  per- 
son, in  the  construction  of  any  ditch  or  canal,  in- 
jures or  damages  the  possession  of  any  settler  on  the 
public  domain,  the  party  committing  such  injury 
or  damage  shall  be  liable  to  the  party  injured  for 
such  injury  or  damage. 


H-^l  l«yi|;l*ltfj^*),lj»!«^«ll^yll|l^^  .■;.- 


134 


Golden  Alaska. 


Sec.  2340.  All  patents  granted,  or  preemption  or 
homesteads  allowed,  shall  be  subject  to  any  vested 
and  accrued  water-rights,  or  rights  to  ditches  and 
reservoirs  used  in  connection  with  such  water-rights, 
as  may  have  been  acquired  under  or  recognized  by 
the  preceding  section. 

Sec.  2341.  Wherever,  upon  the  lands  heretofore 
designated  as  mineral  lands,  which  have  been  ex- 
cluded from  survey  and  sale,  there  have  been  home- 
steads made  by  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  per- 
sons who  have  declared  their  intention  to  become 
citizens,  which  homesteads  have  been  made,  im- 
proved, and  used  for  agricultural  purposes,  and 
upon  which  there  have  been  no  valuable  mines  of 
gold,  silver,  cinnabar,  or  copper  discovered,  and 
which  are  properly  agricultural  lands,  the  settlers  or 
owners  of  such  homesteads  shall  have  a  right  of 
preemption  thereto,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  pur- 
chase the  same  at  the  price  of  $1.25  per  acre,  and  in 
quantity  not  to  exceed  160  acres;  or  they  may  avail 
themselves  of  the  provisions  of  Chapter  V.  of  this 
title,  relating  to  "Homesteads." 

Sec.  2342.  Upon  the  survey  of  the  lands  de- 
scribed in  the  preceding  section,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior  may  designate  and  set  apart  such  por- 
tions of  the  same  as  are  clearly  agricultural  lands, 
which  lands  shall  thereafter  be  subject  to  preemp- 


' .  i.«.i;«!wi»5Ui'i'W?»* '  ''W!i ' '  .1 1'  I; 


Golden  Alaska. 


135 


tion  and  sale  as  other  public  lands,  and  be  subject 
to  all  the  laws  and  regulations  applicable  to  the 
same. 

Sec.  2343.  The  President  is  authorized  to  estab- 
lish additional  land  districts,  and  to  appoint  the  nec- 
essary officers  under  existing  laws,  wherever  he  may 
deem  the  same  necessary  for  the  public  convenience 
in  executing  the  provisions  of  this  chapter. 

Sec.  2344.  Nothing  contained  in  this  chapter 
shall  be  construed  to  impair,  in  any  way,  rights  or 
interests  in  mining  property  acquired  under  existing 
laws;  nor  to  affect  the  provisions  of  the  act  en- 
titled "An  act  granting  to  A.  Sutro  the  right  of  way 
and  other  privileges  to  aid  in  the  construction  of 
a  draining  and  exploring  tunnel  to  the  Comstock 
lode,  in  this  State  of  Nevada,"  approved  July  25, 
1866. 

Sec.  2345.  The  provisions  of  the  preceding  sec- 
tions of  this  chapter  shall  not  apply  to  the  mineral 
lands  situated  in  the  States  of  Michigan,  Wisconsin, 
and  Minnesota,  which  are  declared  free  and  open 
to  exploration  and  purchase,  according  to  legal  sub- 
divisions, in  like  manner  as  before  the  tenth  day  of 
May,  1872.  And  any  bona  fide  entries  of  such  lands 
within  the  States  named  since  the  tenth  of  May, 
1872,  may  be  patented  without  reference  to  any 
of  the  foregoing  provisions  of  this  chapter.     Such 


136 


Golden  Alaska. 


lands  shall  be  offered  for  public  sale  in  the  same 
manner,  at  the  same  minimum  price,  and  under  the 
same  rights  of  preemption  as  other  public  lands. 

Sec.  2346.  No  act  passed  at  the  first  session  of 
the  Thirty-eighth  Congress,  granting  lands  to  States 
or  corporations  to  aid  in  the  construction  of  roads 
or  for  other  purposes,  or  to  extend  the  time  of  grants 
made  prior  to  the  thirtieth  day  of  January,  1865, 
shall  be  so  construed  as  to  embrace  mineral  lands, 
which  in  all  cases  are  reserved  exclusively  to  the 
United  States,  unless  otherwise  especially  provided 
in  the  act  or  acts  making  the  g^ant. 


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Golden  Alaska. 


139 


CLUUIATE,  AGRICULTURE  AND  HEALTH. 


The  Weather  Bureau  has  made  public  a  state- 
ment in  regard  to  the  climate  of  Alaska,  wh'.ch  says: 
"The  climates  of  the  coast  and  the  interior  of  Alaska 
are  unlike  in  many  respects,  and  the  differences  are 
intensified  in  this  as  perhaps  in  few  other  countries 
by  exceptional  physical  conditions.  The  fringe  of 
islands  that  separates  the  mainland  from  the  Pacific 
Ocean  from  Dixon  Sound  north,  and  also  a  strip 
of  the  mainland  for  possibly  twenty  miles  back  from 
the  sea,  following  the  sweep  of  the  coast  as  it  curves 
to  the  northwestward  to  the  western  extremity  of 
Alaska,  form  a  distinct  climatic  division  which  may 
be  termed  temperate  Alaska.  The  temperature  rare- 
ly falls  to  zero;  winter  does  not  set  in  until  Dec.  i, 
and  by  the  last  of  May  the  snow  has  disappeared  ex- 
cept on  the  mountains. 

"The  mean  winter  temperature  of  Sitka  is  32.5, 
but  little  less  than  that  of  Washington,  D.  C.  The 
rainfall  of  temperate  Alaska  is  notorious  the  world 
over,  not  only  as  regards  the  quantity,  but  also  as 
to  the  manner  of  its  falling,  viz. :  in  long  and  inces- 
sant rains  and  drizzles.  Cloud  and  fog  naturally 
abound,  there  being  on  an  average  but  sixty-six 
clear  days  in  the  year. 


V 


140 


Golden  Alaska. 


^ 


"North  of  the  Aleutian  Islands  the  coast  climate 
becomes  more  rigorous  in  winter,  but  in  summer 
the  difference  is  much  less  marked. 

"The  climate  of  the  interior  is  one  of  extreme 
rigor  in  winter,  with  a  brief  but  relatively  hot  sum- 
mer, especially  when  the  sky  is  free  from  cloud. 

"In  the  Klondike  region  in  midwinter  the  sun 
rises  from  9:30  to  10  a.  m.,  and  sets  from  2  to  3  p. 
m.,  the  totil  length  of  daylight  being  about  four 
hours.  Remembering  that  the  sun  rises  but  a  few 
degrees  above  the  horizon  and  that  it  is  wholly  ob- 
scured on  a  great  many  days,  the  character  of  the 
winter  months  may  easily  be  imagined. 

"We  are  indebted  to  the  United  States  coast  and 
geodetic  survey  for  a  series  of  six  months*  observa- 
tions on  the  Yukon,  not  far  from  the  site  of  the 
present  gold  discoveries.  The  observations  were 
made  with  standard  instruments,  and  are  wholly  re- 
liable. The  mean  temperatures  of  the  months  Oc- 
tober, 1889,  to  April,  1890,  both  inclusive,  are  as  fol- 
lows: October,  33  degrees;  November,  8  degrees; 
December,  11  degrees,  below  zero;  January,  17  be- 
low zero;  February,  15  below  zero;  March,  6  above; 
April,  20  above.  The  daily  mean  temperature  fell 
and  remained  below  the  freezing  point  (32  degrees) 
from  Nov.  4,  1889,  to  April  21,  1890,  thus  giving 
j68  days  as  the  length  of  the  closed  season  of  1889- 


' 


Golden  Alaska. 


141 


'90,  assuming  that  outdoor  operations  are  controlled 
by  temperature  only.  The  lowest  temperatures 
registered  during  the  winter  were:  Thirty-two  de- 
grees below  zero  in  November,  47  below  in  De- 
cember, 59  below  in  January,  55  below  in  February, 
45  below  in  March,  and  26  below  in  April. 

"The  greatest  continuous  coll  occurred  in  Feb- 
ruary, 1890,  when  the  daily  mean  for  five  consecu- 
tive days  was  47  degrees  below  zero. 

"Greater  cold  than  that  here  noted  has  been  ex- 
perienced in  the  United  States  for  a  very  short  time, 
but  never  has  it  continued  so  very  cold  for  so  long 
a  time  as  in  the  interior  of  Alaska.  The  winter  sets 
in  as  early  as  September,  when  snow-storms  may 
be  expected  in  the  mountains  and  passes.  Head- 
way during  one  of  those  storms  is  impossible,  and 
the  traveler  who  is  overtaken  by  one  of  them  is 
indeed  fortunate  if  he  escapes  with  his  life.  Snow- 
storms of  great  severity  may  occur  in  any  month 
from  September  to  May,  inclusive. 

"The  changes  of  temperature  from  winter  to  sum- 
mer are  rapid,  owing  to  the  great  increase  in  the 
length  of  the  day.  In  May  the  sun  rises  at  about  3 
a.  m.  and  sets  about  9  p..  m.  In  June  it  rises  about 
half  past  I  in  the  morning,  and  sets  at  about  half 
past  10,  giving  about  twenty  hours  of  daylight  and 
diffuse  twilight  the  remainder  of  the  time. 


; 


WK»'.W"l'^!  I 


142 


Golden  Alaska. 


"The  mean  summer  temperatur.;  in  the  interior 
doubtless  ranges  between  60  and  70  degrees,  ac- 
cording to  elevation,  being  highest  in  the  middle 
and  lower  Yukon  valleys." 

Accurate  data  of  the  temperature  in  the  Klon- 
dike district  were  kept  at  Fort  Constantine  last  year. 
The  temperature  first  touched  zero  Nov.  10,  and 
the  zero  weather  recorded  in  the  spring  was  on  April 
29. 

Between  Dec.  19  and  Feb.  6  it  never  rose  above 
zero.  The  lowest  actual  point,  65  below,  occurred 
on  Jan.  27,  and  on  twenty-four  days  during  the  win- 
ter the  temperature  was  below  50. 

On  March  12  it  first  rose  above  the  freezing  point, 
but  no  continuous  mild  weather  occurred  until  May 
4,  after  which  date  the  temperature  during  the  bal- 
ance of  the  month  frequently  rose  above  60  de- 
grees. 

The  Yukon  River  froze  up  on  Oct.  28  and  broke 
up  on  May  17. 

The  long  and  severe  winter  and  the  frozen  moss- 
covered  ground  are  serious  obstacles  to  agriculture 
and  stock  raising.  The  former  can  change  but  lit- 
tle with  coming  seasons,  but  the  latter,  by  gradually 
burning  off  areas,  can  be  overcoma^to  some  extent. 
On  such  burned  tracts  hardy  vegetables  have  been 
and  may  be  raised,  and  the  area  open  to  such  use 


V  • 


lAoiiM 


■w^ 


'  "-'RfwraiWBfl**  J^!i'RWWi;w«»(WHf.(!,4«!«|?,vW 


""■,R!H» 


Golden  Alaska. 


143 


is  considerable.  Potatoes  do  well  and  barley  will 
mature  a  fair  crop. 

Live  stock  may  be  kept  by  providing  an  abund- 
ance of  shelter  and  feed  and  housing  them  during 
the  winter.  In  summer  an  abundance  of  the  finest 
grass  pasture  can  be  had,  and  great  quantities  of  na- 
tural hay  can  be  cut  in  various  places. 

Diseases. — In  spite  of  all  that  is  heard  in  the 
newspapers  regarding  the  healthfulness  of  the  cli- 
mate of  Alaska  and  the  upper  Yukon,  the  Census 
Report  of  Alaska  offers  its  incontestable  statistics  to 
the  effect  that  the  country  is  not  more  salubrious, 
nor  its  people  more  healthy  than  could  be  expected 
in  a  region  of  violent  climate,  where  the  most  ordi- 
nary laws  of  health  remain  almost  totally  ignored. 
Frcm  thie  Government  Report  we  quote  the  follow- 
ing: 

"Those  diseases  which  are  mosl  fatal  to  life  in  one 
section  of  Alaska  seem  to  be  applicable  to  all  others. 
In  the  first  place,  the  native  children  receive  little 
or  no  care,  and  for  the  first  few  years  of  their  lives 
are  more  often  naked  than  clothed,  at  all  seasons  of 
the  year.  Consumption  is  the  simple  and  compre- 
hensive title  for  the  disease  which  destroys  the 
greater  number  of  the  people  of  Alaska.  Aluet,  In- 
dian and  Eskimo  suffer  from  it  alike;  and  all  alike 
exhibit  the  same  stolid  indifference  to  its  slow  and 


"'■'■i- 


1 


144 


Golden  Alaska. 


fatal  progress,  make  no  attempt  to  ward  it  off,  take 
no  special  precautions  even  when  the  disease  reaches 
its  climax." 

Next  to  consumption  the  scrofulous  diseases,  in 
the  forms  of  ulcers,  eat  into  the  vitals  and  destroy 
them  until  the  natives  have  the  appearance  of  lepers 
to  unaccustomed  eyes.  As  a  consequence  of  their 
neglect  and  the  exigencies  of  the  native  life,  forty  or 
fifty  years  is  counted  among  them  as  comparatively 
great  age,  and  none  are  without  the  ophthalmic  dis- 
eases necessarily  attendant  on  existence  in  smoky 
barabaras.  Against  snow-blindness  the  Eskimo 
people  use  peculiar  goggles,  but  by  far  the  greater 
evil,  the  smoke  poisoning  of  the  ophthalmic  nerve 
is  neither  overcome  nor  prevented  by  any  of  them. 
All  traders  carry  medicine  chests  and  do  What  they 
can  to  relieve  suflFering,  but  it  requires  a  great  deal 
of  medicine  to  make  an  impression  on  the  native 
constitution,  doses  being  about  four  times  what 
would  suffice  an  Englishman  or  American. 


m-  >^ 


Golden  Alaska. 


«4S 


OUTFITS,  SUPPUESr  ETC 

,  Houses. — Almost  every  item  has  been  taken  into 
consideration  by  the  prospectors  starting  out  to  face 
an  Alaskan  winter  except  the  item  of  shelter  when 
they  shall  have  put  their  boats  in  winter  dock.  The 
result  will  be  that  many  hundreds  will  find  them- 
selves in  the  bleak  region  with  plei.ty  of  money  and 
victuals,  but  insufHcient  protection  from  the  cold 
weather.  From  accounts  that  have  come  from 
Alaska  and  British  Columbia,  there  are  more  men 
there  skilled  in  digging  anc  ookkeeping  than  in 
carpentry,  and  more  picks  ami  shovels  than  axes 
and  planes.  With  the  arrival  of  parucs  that  have 
lately  gone  to  the  headwaters  of  the  Yukon,  there 
will  necessarily  be  an  immense  demand  for  houses, 
for  without  them  the  miners  will  freeze.  This  mat- 
ter is  beginning  to  receive  attention  in  San  Fran- 
cisco and  Seattle,  and  preparations  are  now  under 
way  to  provide  gold  seekers  with  houses. 

Negotiations  have  been  conducted  between 
parties  in  San  Francisco  and  this  city  for 
the  shipment  of  entire  houses  to  the  gold  re- 
gions. The  houses  will  be  constructed  in  sections, 
so  that  they  may  be  carried  easily  in  boats  up  the 
Yukon  or  packed  on  sleds  and  carried  through  the 
rough  country  in  baggage  trains.    A  New  York 


F  ?^"W!*'?:T" 


146 


Golden  Alaska. 


firm  which  makes  a  specialty  of  such  houses  has  re- 
ceived orders  for  as  many  as  can  be  sent  there. 

No  tents  are  used  in  winter,  as  they  become  coated 
with  ice  from  the  breath  of  the  sleepers  and  are  also 
apt  to  take  fire. 

Clothing  for  Men. — A  year's  supply  of  winter 
clothing  ought  to  be  taken,  especial  pains  being  taken 
to  supply  plenty  of  warm,  durable  underwear.  Old- 
timers  in  the  country  wear  in  winter  a  coat  or  blouse 
of  dressed  deer  skin,  with  the  hair  on,  coming  down 
to  the  knees  and  held  by  a  belt  round  the  waist.  It 
has  a  hood  which  may  be  thrown  back  on  the 
shoulders  when  not  needed.  This  shirt  is  trimmed 
with  white  deerskin  or  wolfskin,  while  those  worn 
in  extreme  weather  are  often  lined  with  fur.  Next 
in  importance  to  them  are  the  torbassa  or  Eskimo 
boots.  These  are  of  reindeer  skin,  taken  from  the 
legs,  where  the  hair  is  short,  smooth  and  stiff.  These 
are  sewed  together  to  make  the  tops  of  the  boots 
which  come  up  nearly  to  the  knee,  where  they  are 
tied.  The  sole  is  of  sealskin,  turned  over  at  heel 
and  toe  and  gathered  up  so  as  to  protect  those 
parts  and  then  brv>ught  up  on  each  side.  They  are 
made  much  larger  than  the  foot  and  are  worn  with 
a  pad  of  dry  grass  which,  folded  to  fit  the  sole, 
thickens  the  boot  and  forms  an  additional  protection 
to  the  foot.    A  pair  of  strings  tied  about  the  ankle 


Golden  Alaska. 


147 


from  either  side  complete  a  covering  admirably 
adapted  to  the  necessities  of  winter  travel.  If  the 
newcomer  can  get  such  garments  as  these  he  will 
be  well  provided  against  winter  rigors. 

Women  going  to  the  mines  are  advised  to  take 
two  pairs  of  extra  heavy  all-wool  blankets,  one  small 
pillow,  one  fur  robe,  one  warm  shawl,  one  fur  coat, 
easy  fitting;  three  warm  woollen  dresses,  with  com- 
fortable bodices  and  skirts  knee  length,  flannel-lined 
preferable;  three  pairs  of  knickers  or  bloomers  to 
match  the  dresses,  three  suits  of  heavy  all-wool  un- 
derwear, three  warm  flannel  night  dresses,  four 
pairs  of  knitted  woollen  stockings,  one  pair  of  rub- 
ber boots,  three  gingham  aprons  that  reach  from 
neck  to  knees,  small  roll  of  flannel  for  insoles,  wrap- 
ping the  feet  and  bandages;  a  sewing  kit,  such  toilet 
articles  as  are  absolutely  necessary,  including  some 
skip  unguent  to  protect  the  face  from  the  icy  cold, 
two  light  blouses  or  shirt  waists  for  summer  wear, 
one  oilskin  blanket  to  wrap  her  effects  in,  to  be 
secured  at  Juneau  or  St.  Michael;  one  fur  cape,  two 
pairs  of  fur  gloves,  two  pairs  of  surseal  moccasins, 
two  pairs  of  muclucs — ^wet  weather  moccasins. 

She  wears  what  she  pleases  en  route  to  Juneau  or 
St.  Michael,  and  when  she  makes  her  start  for  the 
diggings  she  lays  aside  every  civilized  traveling 
garb,  including  shoes  and  stays,  until  she  comes  out. 


148 


Golden  Alaska. 


Instead  of  carrying  the  fur  robe/ fur  coat  and  rub- 
ber boots  along,  she  can  get  them  on  entering  Alas- 
ka, but  the  experienced  ones  say,  take  them  along. 
Leggings  and  shoes  are  not  so  safe  nor  desirable  as 
the  moccasins.  A  trunk  is  not  the  thing  to  trans- 
port baggage  in.  It  is  much  better  in  a  pack,  with 
the  oilskin  cover  well  cled  on.  The  things  to  add 
that  are  useful,  but  not  absolutely  necessary,  are 
chocolate,  coffee  and  the  smaller  light  luxuries. 

Beds  are  made  on  a  platform  raised  a  few  feet 
from  the  floor,  and  about  seven  feet  wide,  and  often 
consist  of  a  reindeer  skin  with  the  hair  on  and  one 
end  sewn  up  so  as  to  make  a  sort  of  bag  to  put 
the  feet  in,  a  pillow  of  wild  goose  feathers,  and  a 
pair  of  blankets.  Sheets,  which  have  been  un- 
known heretofore,  may  become  essential,  but  such 
a  conventionality  as  a  counterpane  would  better  be 
left  behind. 

Provisions. — ^There  was  a  report  that  Canadian 
mounted  police  would  guard  the  passes  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  summer  of  1897  and  refuse  admis- 
sion to  anyone  who  did  not  bring  a  year's  provisions 
with  him.  This  has  been  estimated  as  weighing 
1,800  pounds.  Whether  this  is  true  or  not,  it  is  cer- 
tain that  no  one  should  go  into  the  Yukon  country 
without  taking  a  large  supply  of  food,  and  taking 
it  from  his  starting  point.    Whatever  is  the  most 


Golden  Alaska. 


149 


condensed  and  nutritious  is  the  cheapest,  and  this 
should  be  collected  with  great  care.  There  is  well- 
grounded  fear  that  famine  may  overtake  all  the 
camps  there  before  the  opening  of  navigation  in  the 
spring.  Newspapers  on  August  2nd  reported  agents 
of  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company  as  saying: 

"We  shall  refuse  to  take  passengers  at  all  in  our 
next  steamer.  We  could  sell  every  berth  at  the 
price  we  have  been  asking — $250,  as  against  $120 
last  spring — ^but  we  shall  not  sell  one.  We  shall 
fill  up  with  provisions,  and  I  have  no  doubt  the 
Pacific  Coast  Company  will  do  the  same.  We  arc 
afraid.  Those  who  are  mad  to  get  to  the  diggings 
will  probably  be  able  to  get  transportation  by  char- 
tering tramp  steamers,  and  there  is  a  serious  risk 
that  there  will  not  be  food  enough  for  them  at  Ju- 
neau or  on  the  Yukon.  After  the  season  closes  it 
will  be  next  to  impossible  to  get  supplies  into  the 
Yukon  country,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  gold 
seekers  may  starve  to  death.  That  would  be  an 
ominous  beginning  for  the  new  camp.  Alaska  is 
not  like  California  or  Australia  or  South  Africa.  It 
produces  nothing.  When  the  supplies  from  out- 
side are  exhausted,  famine  must  follow — ^to  what  de- 
gree no  one  can  tell." 

It  was  further  understood  at  this  date  that  there 
are  :2,ooo  tons  of  food  at  St.  Michael,  and  the  AlasVa 


fi  •■.  n , 


150 


Golden  Alaska. 


Company  has  three  large  and  three  small  steamers 
to  carry  it  up  river.  It  is  hard  to  ascertain  how 
much  there  is  at  Juneau;  it  is  vaguely  stated  that 
there  are  5,000  tons.  At  a  pinch  steamers  might 
work  their  way  for  several  months  to  come  through 
the  ice  to  that  port  from  Seattle,  which  is  only 
three  days  distant.  But  it  may  be  nip  and  tuck  if 
there  is  any  rush  of  gold  seekers  from  the  East. 

Alaskan  Mails. — Between  Seattle  and  Sitka  the 
mail  steamers  ply  regularly.    On  the  City  of  To- 

peka  there  has  been  established  a  regular  sea  post- 
office  sen/ice.  W.  R.  Curtis  is  the  clerk  in  charge. 
Between  Sitka  and  Juneau  there  is  a  closed  pouch 
steamboat  service.  Seattle  makes  up  closed  pouches 
for  Douglas,  Fort  Wrangel,  Juneau,  Killisnoo,  Ket- 
chikan, Mary  Island,  Sitka,  and  Metlakahtla.  Con- 
necting at  Sitka  is  other  sea  service  between  that 
point  and  Unalaska,  1400  miles  to  the  west.  This 
service  consists  of  one  trip  a  month  between  Sitka 
and  Unalaska  from  April  to  October  and  leaves  Sit- 
ka immediately  upon  arrival  of  the  mails  from  Seat- 
tle. Captain  j.  E.  Hanson  is  acting  clerk.  From 
Unalaska  the  mails  are  dispatched  to  St.  Michael 
and  thence  to  points  on  the  Yukon. 

The  Postoffice  department  has  perfected  not  only 
a  summer  but  a  winter  star  route  service  between 
Juneau  and  Circle  City.    The  route  is  overland  and 


HW)!iH|"  ^p  J 


■SP^ 


Golden  Alaska. 


"51 


by  boats  and  rafts  over  the  lakes  and  down  the  Yu- 
kon, and  is  900  miles  long.  A  Chicago  man  named 
Beddoe  carries  the  summer  mail,  making  five  trips 
between  June  and  November,  and  is  paid  $500  a 
trip.  Two  Juneau  men,  Frank  Corwin  and  Albert 
Hayes,  operate  the  winter  service  and  draw  for  each 
round  trip  $1,700  in  gold.  About  1,200  letters  are 
carried  on  each  trip.  The  cost  of  forwarding  let- 
ters trom  Circle  City  to  Dawson  City  is  one  dollar 
for  each  letter  and  two  for  each  paper,  the  mails 
I  .ng  sent  over  once  a  month.  The  Chilkoot  Pass 
is  crossed  with,  the  mail  by  means  of  Indian  car- 
riers. On  the  previous  trips  the  carriers,  after  fin- 
ishing the  pass,  built  their  boats,  but  they  now  have 
their  own  to  pass  the  lakes  and  the  Lewes  River. 

In  the  winter  transportation  is  carried  on  by  means 
of  dog-sleds,  and  it  is  hoped  that  under  the  present 
contracts  there  will  be  no  stoppage,  no  matter  how 
low  the  temperature  may  go.  The  contractor  has 
reported  that  he  was  sending  a  boat,  in  sections, 
by  way  of  St.  Michael,  up  the  Yukon  River,  to  be 
used  on  the  waterway  of  the  route,  and  it  is  thought 
much  time  will  be  saved  by  this,  as  formerly  it 
was  necessary  for  the  carriers  to  stop  and  build 
boats  or  rafts  to  pass  the  lakes. 

Contracts  have  been  made  with  two  steamboat 
companies  for  two  trips  from  Seattle  to  St.  Michael. 


papiiyOTgpj|n^'i'Tfniwi|.w 


I^HBHiMPHpia 


iS« 


Golden  Alaska 


When  the  steamers  reach  St.  Michael,  the  mail  will 
be  transferred  to  the  flat-bottomed  boats  running 
up  the  Yukon  as  far  as  Circle  City.  It  is  believed 
the  boats  now  run  further  up. 

The  contracts  for  the  overland  route  call  for  only 
first-class  matter,  whereas  the  steamers  in  summer 
carry  everything,  up  to  five  tons,  each  trip. 

Sledges  and  Dogs. — The  sleds  are  heavy  and  shod 
with  bone  sawed  from  the  upper  edge  of  the  jaw  of 
the  bowhead  whale.  The  rest  of  the  sled  is  of 
spruce  and  will  carry  from  six  to  eight  hundred 
pounds.  The  sleds  used  in  the  interior  are  lighter 
and  differently  constructed.  They  consist  of  a  nar- 
row box  four  feet  long,  the  front  half  being  covered 
or  boxed  in,  mounted  on  a  floor  eight  feet  long  rest- 
ing on  runners.  In  this  box  the  passenger  sits, 
wrapped  in  rabbit  skins  so  that  he  can  hardly  move, 
his  head  and  shoulders  only  projecting.  In  front 
and  behind  and  on  top  of  the  box  is  placed  all  the 
luggage,  covered  with  canvas  and  securely  lashed, 
to  withstand  all  the  jolting  and  possible  upsets,  and 
his  snow  shoes  within  easy  reach. 

An  important  item  is  the  dog-whip,  terrible  to  the 
dog  if  used  by  a  skillful  hand  and  terrible  to  the 
user  if  he  be  a  novice;  for  he  is  sure  to  half  strangle 
himself  or  to  hurt  his  own  face  with  the  business 
end  of  the  lash.  "The  whip  I  measured  had  a  handle 


wm  I 


ii'.''H{l    ,u|(!li!i<l'"»-uiin.'-.".|.V"        F  t]^J<"<  *».  «' ,";n     ™  ii,py»i";ivf>wpp>»J!«pi»1fWfff>"'^»llfS^llw^(»>P»fi^ 


'■n^i^n<ipp<p^in'"<"VPP"n" 


ifpmPRa 


ipn 


Golden  Alaska. 


153 


nine  inches  long  and  lash  thirty  feet,  and  weighed 
four  pounds.  The  lash  was  of  folded  and  plaited 
seal  hide,  and  for  five  feet  from  the  handle  measured 
five  inches  round,  then  for  fourteen  feet  it  gradually 
tapered  off,  ending  in  a  single  thong  half  an  inch 
thick  and  eleven  feet  long.  Wonderful  the  dex- 
terity with  which  a  driver  can  pick  out  a  dog  and 
almost  a  spot  on  a  dog  with  this  lash!  The  lash 
must  be  trailing  at  full  length  behind,  when  a  jerk 
and  turn  of  the  wrist  causes  it  to  fly  forward,  the 
thick  part  first,  and  the  tapering  end  continuing 
the  motion  till  it  is  at.  full  length  in  front,  and  the 
lash  making  the  fur  fly  from  the  victim.  But  often 
it  is  made  to  crack  over  the  heads  of  the  dogs  as  a 
warning. 

"The  eleven  dogs  are  harnessed  to  the  front  of 
the  sled,  each  by  a  separate  thong  of  seal  hide,  all 
of  different  lengths,  fastened  to  a  light  canvas  har- 
ness. The  nearest  dog  is  about  fifteen  feet  from 
the  sled,  and  the  leader,  with  bells  on  her,  about 
fifty  feet,  the  thongs  thus  increasing  in  length  by 
about  three  feet.  When  the  going  is  good  the  dogs 
spread  out  like  the  fingers  of  a  hand,  but  when  the 
snow  is  deep  they  fall  into  each  other's  tracks  in 
almost  single  file.  As  they  continue 'ly  cross  and 
recross  each  other,  the  thongs  get  gradually  plaited 
almost  up  to  the  rearmost  dog,  when  a  halt  is  called, 


pHRMIWiKPP 


IWfPP*^*^ 


wim^ni^jmii^mmmffWW7ff!f^miHmfJ'm'm'>nf.  « 


154  Golden  Alaska. 

the  dogs  are  made  to  lie  down,  and  the  driver  care- 
fully disentangles  them,  taking  care  that  no  dog 
gets  away  meanwhile.  They  are  guided  by  the 
voice,    using    *husky,'     that    is,    Eskimo    words: 

*Owk,*  go  to  the  right;  'arrah,*  to  the  left,  and 
'holt,'  straight  on.  But  often  one  of  the  men  must 
run  ahead  on  snowshoes  for  the  dogs  to  follow  him. 

"The  dogs  are  of  all  colors,  somewhat  the  height 
of  the  Newfoundland,  but  with  shorter  legs.  The 
usual  number  is  from  five  to  seven,  according  to  the 
load." 

List  of  prices  that  have  been  curr*»nt  in  Dawson 
City  during  1897: 

Flour,  per  100  lbs $12.00  to  $120.00 

Moose  ham,  per  lb i.oo  to       2.00 

Caribou  meat,  lb 65 

Beans,  per  lb 10 

Rice,  per  lb 25  to         .75 

Sugar,  per  lb 25 

Bacon,  per  lb 40  to         .80 

Butter,  per  roll .1.50  to       2.50 

Eggs,  per  doz • 1,50  to       3.00 

Better  eggs,  doz 2.00 

Salmon,  each i.ooto       1.50 

Potatoes,  per  lb 25 

Turnips,  per  lb 15 

Tea,  per  lb i.oo  to       3.00 

Coffee,  per  lb 50  to       2.25 

Dried  fruits,  per  lb .35 


p^^^ 


n^'wii 


"Tf" 


Golden  Alaska.  155 

Canned  fruits $    .5010   $2.25 

Lemons,  each 20  to  .25 

Oranges,  each 50 

Tobacco,  per  lb 1.50  to  2.00 

Liquors,  per  drink 50 

Shovels 2.50  to  18.00 

Picks 5.00  to  7.00 

Coal  oil,  per  gal i.oo  to  2.50 

Overalls 1.50 

Underwear,  per  suit 5.00  to  7.50 

Shoes 5.00  to  8.00 

Rubber  boots  15.00  to    18.00 

Based  on  supply  and  demand  the  above  quoted 
prices  may  vary  several  hundred  per  cent,  on  some 
articles  at  any  time. 

Fare  to  Seattle  by  way  of  Northern  Pacific,  $81.50. 

Fee  for  Pullman  sleeper,  $20.50. 

Fee  for  tourist  sleeper,  rui  only  west  o^  St. 
Paul,  $5. 

Meals  served  in  dining  car  for  entire  trip,  $16. 

Meals  are  served  at  stations  along  the  route  a  la 
carte. 

Distance  from  New  York  to  Seattle,  3,290  miles. 

Days  required  to  make  the  journey,  about  six. 

Fare  for  steamer  from  Seattle  to  Juneau,  includ- 
ing cabin  and  meals,  $35. 

Days,  Seattle  to  Juneau,  about  five. 

Number  of  miles  from  Seattle  to  Juneau,  725. 


156 


Golden  Alaska. 


Cost  of  living  in  Juneau,  about  $3  per  day. 

Distance  on  Lynn    Canal    to     Healy's     Store, 
steamboat,  seventy-five  miles. 

Number  of  days,  New  York  to  Healy's  Store, 
twelve. 

Cost  of   complete   outfit   for   overland  journey, 
about  $150. 

Cost  of  provisions  for  one  year,  about  $200. 

Cost  of  dogs,  sled  and  outfit,  about  $150. 

Steamer  leaves  Seattle  once  a  week. 

Best  time  to  start  is  early  in  the  Spring. 

Total  cost  of  trip.  New  York  to  Klondike,  about 
$667. 

Number  of  days  required  for  journey,  New  York 
to  Klondike,  thirty-six  to  forty. 

Total  distance,  New  York  to  the  mines  at  Klon- 
dike, 4,650  miles. 


\ 


\ 


Golden  Alaska. 


»57 


lay. 

i     Store, 

's  Store, 

journey, 

GO. 


(i 


:e,  about 
5w  York 
It  Klon- 


■■ 


MEDICAL  ADVICE  FOR  GOLD  HUNTERS. 


By  Dr.  A.  P.  O'Brien. 

To  give  absolutely  safe  medical  advice  on  the  sub- 
ject of  who  should  and  who  should  not  go  to  the 
Klondike  is  a  hard  task.  There  is  much  exaggera- 
tion current  about  the  risks  involved  in  the  journey. 

The  common  talk  about  the  fatal  effects  of  arctic 
cold  may  be  discounted  largely.  Man— especially 
man  reared  in  the  temperate  zone — has  the  power 
of  assimilating  himself  with  climatic  changes  more 
than  any  other  mammal.  Changes  from  hot  to  cold, 
from  moist  to  dry,  from  high  altitudes  to  sea  coast 
and  the  reverse,  arc  found  beneficial  in  individual 
cases  in  the  highest  degree. 

For  many  constitutions  the  bracing  effect  of  a 
trip  to  Northern  latitudes  is  positively  beneficial. 
Snow  and  ice  are  not  in  themselves  by  any  means 
injurious  to  the  physical  health  of  the  average  na- 
tive of  the  temperate  zone.  They  may  be  disagree- 
able, but  they  are  not  unhealthful,  unless  the  soil  of 
the  district  where  they  occur  is  of  a  nature  to  re- 
tain dampness.  Cls^ys  arc  bad  in  this  respect;  grav- 
elly soils  are  safe. 


»S8 


Golden  Alaska. 


Scientific  records  "have  well  established  that  the 
average  duration  of  human  life  is  greater  in  propor- 
tion as  the  residence  is  advanced  from  the  equator 
toward  the  poles.  There  are  exceptions,  oi  course, 
but  only  such  as  prove  the  general  rule.  There  is 
more  risk  of  disease  by  far  in  a  voyage  to  India  or 
Panama  than  in  one  to  Behring  Straits. 

Climate,  however,  is  not  the  only  thing  to  be 
considered  when  t!here  is  question,  in  a  medical 
sense,  of  the  risks  of  a  distant  and  laborious  expedi- 
tion, undertaken  by  a  multitude  of  persons  widely 
differing,  as  all  multitudes  must,  in  the  capacity  of 
individuals  for  standing  hardships  and  privations. 

To  the  weak,  or  those  disposed  to  special  ail- 
ments, conditions  which  are  only  invigorating  to  the 
man  in  average  health  are  often  absolutely  fatal. 
Weak  hearts  and  weak  lungs  cannot  face  Northern 
blasts  or  temperatures  below  zero.  Rheumatism  and 
its  kindred  affections  are  equally  ill-fitted  for  such 
tests.  Nor  are  such  persons,  whether  young  or  old, 
as  have  been  long  accustomed  to  purely  sedentary 
occupations  or  to  lives  of  ease  and  luxury,  physically 
fitted  for  the  hardships  of  the  Klondike.  In  the 
former  the  vital  and  resistive  powers  have  never 
been  developed;  in  the  latter  they  have  been  sapped. 
Weak  eyes  would  be  severely  tested  by  the  glare 
of  a  snow-covered  land,  and  blindness  is  but  one 


Golden  Alaska.  159 

of  the  dangers  to  be  feared  by  arctic  explorers. 

In  brief,  I  would  say  that  persons  subject  to 
troubles  of  the  heart,  throat,  or  lungs  should  stay 
away  from  the  Klondike.  Physical  exhaustion,  colds 
scurvy,  rheumatism,  and  snow  blindness  are  the 
chief  dangers  to  be  apprehended  on  the  trip  from  a 
n.edical  standpoint.  For  the  healthy,  in  other  re- 
spects than  those  mentioned,  there  is  no  more  dan- 
ger to  be  dreaded  than  in  any  ordinary  change  of 
residence.  Alaska  is  not  more  unhealthful  in  itself 
than  Illinois,  Norway,  or  the  northern  parts  of  Scot- 
land. Only,  those  that  are  able  to  bear  hardships 
should  face  them,  but  as  far  as  hygienic  conditions 
go  there  need  be  no  special  apprehension  on  the 
score  of  Alaska.  In  conclusion,  I  would  say  to 
those  of  weak  lungs  and  weak  hearts,  and  sedentary 
people  generally,  stay  at  home.  The  others  may 
balance  their  chances  without  need  of  doctors*  ad- 
vice. 

I  would  advise  all  persons  who  contemplate  go- 
ing to  the  Klondike  region  to  include  in  their  out- 
fits a  medicine  chest  composed  of  the  following 
drugs,  the  cost  of  which  should  be  within  $10: 

Quinine  pills 50 

Compound  cathartic  pills 50 

Acetanilid  tablets 3  dozen 

Chlorate  potash i  box 


i6o  ^         Golden  Alaska. 

Mustard  plasters 6 

Belladonna  plasters  6 

Carbolic  salve  4  ounces 

Chloroform  liniment 8  ounces 

Witch  hazel i  pint 

Essence  ginger 4  ounces 

Paregoric 4  ounces 

Laudanum i  ounce 

Borax 4  ounces 

Tincture  iodine i  ounce 

Spirits  nitre 2  ounces 

Tincture  iron i  ounce 

Cough  mixture  8  ounces 

Toothache  drops i  bottle 

Vaseline i  bottle 

Iodoform 2  drams 

Lint 2  yards 

Assorted  bandages |  dozen 

Rubber  adhesive  plasters 2  feet 

Absorbent  cotton 4  ounces 

Monsell's  salts  for  hemorrhages — in  quantities  in 
accordance  with  the  person's  liability  to  attacks  of 
the  trouble. 


Golden  Alaska. 


i6i 


LOCATION,  AREA,  AINTD  POPULATION. 

The  Territory  of  Alaska,  lying  in  the  extreme 
northwestern  corner  of  the  North  American  Con- 
tinent, on  the  Bering  Sea  and  North  Pacific, 
comprises  an  area  of  about  577,390  statute  square 
miles,  with  a  seacoast  of  26,000  miles,  or  nearly 
two  and  one-half  times  the  seacoast  of  the  bal- 
ance of  the  United  States.  The  Territory  was 
acquired  by  purchase  by  the  United  States  from 
Russia,  and  the  boundaries,  as  laid  down  in 
the  treaty  of  cession  of  March  30,  1867,  are: 
Commencing  from  the  southernmost  point  of 
the  island  called  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  which 
point  lies  in  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40  min- 
utes north  latitude,  and  between  the  131st  and 
the  133d  degree  of  west  longitude  (meridian 
of  Greenwich),  the  said  line  shall  ascend  to 
the  north  along  the  channel  called  Portland 
Channel  as  far  as  the  point  of  the  continent 
where  it  strikes  the  56th  degree  of  north  lati- 
tude; from  this  last-mentioned  point,  the  line 
of  demarcation  shall  follow  the  summit  of  the 
mountains  situated  parallel  to  the  coast  as  far 
as  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  141st  degree 
of  west  longitude  (of  the  same  meridian) ;  and 
finally,  from  the  said  point  of  intersection,  the 


l62 


Golden  Alaska. 


said  meridian  line  of  the   141st  degree,  in    its 
prolongation  as  far  as  the  Frozen  Ocean. 

With  reference  to  the  line  of  demarcation  it 
is  understood — 

1st.  That  the  island  called  Prince  of  Wales 
Island  shall  belong  wholly  to  Russia  (now,  by 
this  cession,  to  the  United  States). 

2d.  That  whenever  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tains which  extend  in  a  direction  parallel  to 
the  coast  from  the  56th  degree  of  north  latitude 
to  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  141st  degree 
of  west  longitude  shall  prove  to  be  at  the  distance 
of  more  than  ten  marine  leagues  from  the 
ocean,  the  limit  between  the  British  posses- 
sions and  the  line  of  coast  which  is  to  belong  to 
Russia  as  above  mentioned  (that  is  to  say,  the 
limit  to  the  possessions  ceded  by  this  conven- 
tion) shall  be  formed  by  a  line  parallel  to  the 
winding  of  the  coast,  and  which  shall  never 
exceed  the  distance  of  ten  marine  leagues 
therefrom. 

The  western  limits,  within  which  the  terri- 
tories and  dominion  conveyed  are  contained, 
passes  through  a  point  in  Bering  Straits  on  tht 
parallel  of  65  degrees  30  minutes  north  latitude, 
at  its  intersection  by  the  meridian  which  passes 
midway  between  the  islands  of  Krusenstem,  or 


pip 


Golden  Alaska. 


163 


Ignalook,  and  the  island  of  Ratmanoff,  or 
Noonarbook,  and  proceeds  due  north,  without 
limitation,  into  the  same  Frozen  Ocean.  The 
same  western  limit,  beginning  at  the  same  initial 
point,  proceeds  thence  in  a  course  nearly  south- 
west through  Bering's  Straits  and  Bering's 
Sea,  so  as  to  pass  midway  between  the  northwest 
point  of  the  Island  of  St.  Lawrence  and  the 
southeast  point  of  Cape  Choukotski,  to  the 
meridian  of  172  west  longitude;  thence,  from 
the  intersection  of  that  meridian,  in  a  south- 
westerly direction,  so  as  to  pass  midway  between 
the  island  of  Attou  and  the  Copper  Island  of 
the  Kormandorski  couplet  or  group  in  the  North 
Pacific  Ocean,  to  the  meridian  of  193  degrees 
west  longitude,  so  as  to  include  in  the  territory 
conveyed  the  whole  of  the  Aleutian  islands  east 
of  that  meridian. 

The  treaty  ceding  to  the  United  States  the 
territory  of  Russian  America,  as  it  was  then 
called,  was  concluded  March  30,  1867.  The  sum 
of  $7,000,000  was  orginally  agreed  upon;  but 
when  it  was  understood  that  there  was  a  fur 
company  and  also  an  ice  company  enjoying 
monopolies  under  the  existing  government,  it 
was  thought  best  that  these  should  be  extin- 
guished;  and  the  United  States  added  $300,000 


164 


Golden  Alaska. 


to  the  purchase  money,  in  consideration  of 
which  the  Russian  Government  formally 
declared  the  cession  of  the  territory  to  be  free 
from  all  incumbrances.  * 

Although  there  is  no  record  of  official  corre- 
spondence on  the  matter,  the  eastern  boundary 
line  appears  to  have  been  the  subject  of  informal 
consultation  between  the  Unired  States  and 
Great  Britain  soon  after  the  territory  was 
annexed.  In  his  annual  message  to  Congress, 
December  2,  1872,  President  Grant  recom- 
mended the  appointment  of  a  joint  commission 
to  determine  the  line;  but  no  action  upon  the 
matter  was  taken  by  Congress.  On  May  17, 
1886,  President  Cleveland  transmitted  to  Con- 
gress copies  of  correspondence  on  the  question 
between  Secretary  Bayard  and  Minister  Phelps, 
and  recommended  the  appropriation  of  $100,000 
for  making  a  preliminary  survey  of  the  frontier 
territory.  During  the  winter  of  1887-88  informal 
conferences  were  held  in  Washington  between 
Prof.  W.  H.  Dall,  of  the  United  States  Geological 
Survey,  and  Dr.  George  M.  Dawson,  both  author- 
ities on  the  Territory  of  Alaska,  but  the  confer- 
ences led  to  no  result.  On  August  20,  1895,  Lord 
Gough  inquired  of  Secretary  Olney  if  a  joint 
surveyor  could  not  be  appointed    to    act  'with 


Golden  Alaska. 


165 


,d 


Mr.  William  Ogilvie,  who  was  then  about  to 
survey  the  intersection  of  the  one  hundred 
and  forty-first  meridian  and  the  Yukon  River. 
The  Acting  Secretary  of  State  asked  if  the  pro- 
posed survey  could  not  be  delayed  until  Congress 
had  had  an  opportunity  to  consider  the  question. 
This  suggestion  was  transmitted  to  the  Canadian 
government,  which  answered  that  the  season 
was  so  far  advanced  that  it  would  not  be  possible 
to  communicate  with  Mr.  Ogilvie  before  the 
next  summer,  when  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  one  hundred  and  forty-first  meridian  would 
already  be  marked  on  the  ground.  An  extract 
from  a  letter  by  Secretary  Olney,  dated 
March  11,  1896,  was  as  follows: 

"So  far  as  the  recent  and  existing  surveys  on 
either  side  have  progressed,  they  exhibit  a  close 
coincidence  of  results.  At  one  point,  as  I  am 
informed,  the  difference  between  Mr.  Ogilvie's 
location  and  that  made  by  the  United  States 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  is  only  about  6  feet 
7  inches.  In  another  point  the  difference  is  in 
the  neighborhood  of  500  or  600  feet,  and  at 
other  points  even  closer  coincidence  than  this 
latter  is  expected  when  the  comparison  of  calcu- 
lations shall  have  been  worked  out." 

Mr.  Olney  proposed  that  the  two  Governments 


i66 


Golden  Alaska. 


should  agree  upon  certain  points  of  the  one 
hundred  and  forty-first  meridian  at  the  inter- 
section of  the  principal  streams,  locating  the 
same  at  points  midway  between  the  determina- 
tions of  the  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  and 
of  Mr.  Ogilvie,  and  providing  for  the  junctioi 
of  the  points  so  located  by  convenient  joint 
surveys,  as  occasion  should  require,  until  the 
entire  line  should  be  established.  This  would 
supply  a  permanent  line  which  for  inter- 
national purposes  would  be  coincident  with  the 
one  hundred  and  forty-fifth  meridian,  stipulated 
under  existing  treaties,  and  would  require  no 
further  immediate  arrangement  than  the  dispatch 
of  a  joint  surveying  party  to  set  up  monuments 
at  the  points  defined,  with  perhaps  the  survey 
of  a  traverse  line  connecting  the  monuments 
on  the  Yukon  and  Forty  Mile  Creek,  and  farther 
south,  if  necessary. 

The  Canadian  Government  agreed  to  this 
proposition,  and  the  convention  is  now  pending 
before  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 


Golden  Alaska. 


167 


POPULA'nON. 

No  definite  idea  of  the  population  was  obtained 
until  the  census  of  1890.      In  1868,  in  a  report 

by  Maj.  Gen.  H.  W.  Halleck,  the  number  given 
was  82,400.  In  the  same  year  Rev.  Vincent 
Collyer,  in  his  report  to  the  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs,  added  11,900  Thlinket  Indians 
to  the  number  given  by  General  Halleck,  mak- 
ing 94,300,  while  Ivan  Petroff,  Special  Agent 
for  the  Tenth  Census  (1880),  states  the  popula- 
tion as  33,426.  The  census  of  1890,  which  is 
the  first  detailed  statement,  fixes  the  number  at 
32,052,  which  is  made  up  of  4,298  white,  23,531 
Indians,  2,288  Mongolians,  and  1,935  mixed 
blood. 

INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  ALASKA. 


For  some  years  after  the  cession  of  Alaska  to 
the  United  States,  there  was  trouble  among  the 
Indian  tribes,  and  a  man-of-war  was  stationed  in 
Sitka  harbor.  There  has  been  no  recent  dis- 
turbance. The  natives  of  Alaska,  according 
to  Mr.  Petroff,  are  divided  into  four  principal 
families:  The  Eskimo  or  Innuit,  the  Aleut 
(Oonagan),  the  Thlinket,  and    the   Athabaskan 


i68 


Golden  Alaska. 


(or  Tinneh).  There  are  numerous  subdivisions. 
The  Eskimos  occupy  almost  the  whole  coast 
line  of  Alaska  west  of  the  one  hundred  and  forty- 
fifth  meridian.  The  Aleuts  inhabit  parts  of 
Aliaska  Peninsula,  the  Shumagin  Islands,  and 
the  Aleutian  chain.  The  Athabaskans  include 
a  large  number  of  tribes  generally  classed  as 
•'North  American  Indians,"  extending  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River  in  the  north  to 
the  borders  of  Mexico  in  the  south.  The 
northern  tribes  extend  west  nearly  to  Bering 
Sea,  touching  the  coast  only  in  the  northern  part 
of  Cook  Inlet.  At  every  other  point  they  are 
separated  from  the  ocean  by  a  belt  of  Eskimo. 
The  Thlinket  inhabit  the  coast  and  islands  from 
the  intersection  of  the  one  hundred  and  forty- 
first  meridian  to  the  southern  boundary  of 
Alaska.  Detailed  descriptions  of  the  tribes  are 
given  in  "Petroff's  Population,  Industries,  and 
Resources  of  Alaska";  by  Dall,  in  ** Alaska  and 
Its  Resources,"  and  by  Lietitenant  Schwatka 
(Military  Reconnoissance  in  Alaska). 

The  report  of  Governor  Knapp  for  1892  says: 
**The  Athabascans  and  Eskimos  have  come  less 
under  the  influences  of  contact  with  white  people 
than  the  other  tribes,  and  therefore  retain  more 
of  their  original  customs  and  peculiarities.     They 


Golden  Alaska. 


169 


occupy  the  interior  and  the  coast  of  the  Arctic 
Ocean  and  Bering  Sea.  The  Eskimos  are  a 
comparatively  gentle  and  inoffensive  people, 
living  mostly  upon  fish,  walrus,  whale,  ard  other 
game  to  be  found  near  the  shores  and  in  the 
water,  though  they  also  make  long  excursions 
into  the  interior,  hunting  reindeer,  moose,  and 
other  large  animals.  The  interior  Indians 
(Athabascans)  live  mostly  by  hunting  and  fish- 
ing in  the  rivers.  A  few  mission  stations  along 
the  coast  and  on  the  Yukon  River  have  had  a 
little  influence  upon  a  very  small  number  of  the 
people.  The  mining  camps  on  the  upper 
Yukon  have  also  come  in  contact  with  the 
natives  to  some  extent  in  the  way  of  trade,  but 
they  have  not  in  any  large  degree  acted  as 
civilizing  agencies.  It  is  said  that  the  natives 
of  the  upper  Yukon  region  have  been  very  little 
demoralized  by  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquor, 
perhaps  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  packing 
it  across  the  divide.  Mr.  Chapman,  of  Anvik, 
writes  that  "liquor  has  not  troubled  the  natives 
speaking  the  group  of  dialects  found  around 
Anvik;  but  almost  everywhere  else  in  the 
Yukon  country  it  has  made  more  or  less 
trouble,"  The  dialects  referred  to  arise  from 
the  inter-relations  of  Eskimos  and  Athabascans 


I70 


Golden  Alaska. 


at  the  point  of  contact.  The  Eskimos  and  inte- 
rior Indians  find  it  necessary  to  exercise  the 
utmost  of  their  energies  and  of  their  ingenuity 
to  secure  a  bare  subsistence,  and  their  ideas 
have  not  risen  much  above  the  level  of  animal 
existence.  Physically,  they  are  strong  and 
comparatively  healthy;  mentally,  they  lack 
vigor;  morally,  they  substitute  expediency  for 
right.  They  are  comparatively  honest,  because 
it  is  the  best  policy  to  be  so.  They  see  no  moral 
quality  in  abstaining  from  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors,  tobacco,  or  other  hurtful  things,  or  in 
restraints  in  the  relations  of  the  sexes. 

Except  as  their  ideas  are  modified  by  rela- 
tions and  intercourse  with  white  people,  they 
have  no  religion;  unless  certain  indefinite  super- 
stitions, having  no  connection  with  any  idea  of 
a  supreme  spiritual  being,  can  be  called  religion. 

The  Aleuts  have  become  thoroughly  Russian- 
ized. They  talk  Russian,  belong  to  the  Russian 
Orthodox  Church,  shade  off  into  Russian  blood, 
features,  and  complexion,  and  affect  Russian 
ideas.  They  are  rapidly  fading  away.  Their 
physical  condition  is  far  from  being  satisfactory, 
and  their  moral  condition  is  worse.  They  are 
easy-going,  gentle,  and  kindly  disposed  people, 
somewhat  lacking  in  force  of  character.      They 


Golden  Alaska. 


171 


secure  a  comfortable  living  with  their  sea-otter 
hunting  and  fishing,  anc  aave  little  forethought 
as  to  the  future. 

The  Thlingkets,  Tsimpseans,  and  Hydas  live 
in  southeastern  Alaska,  and  are  very  similar 
in  character  and  habits,  though  their  languages 
are  different.  Their  contact  with  white  people 
has  very  much  modified  them  in  many  respects, 
and  many  of  them  now  converse  freely  in  the 
English  language,  while  a  few  of  them  can  read 
and  write. 


TOWNS  AND  TRADING  POSTS. 

The  capital  of  the  Territory  is  Sitka,  located 
in  57  degrees  north,  135  degrees  and  17  min- 
utes west,  on  a  low  strip  of  land  on  the 
west  of  Baranof  Island.  Mount  Edgecumbe, 
an  extinct  volcano  of  8,000  feet,  opposite 
the  town,  is  the  landmark  of  the  port. 
There  is  an  industrial  school,  and  the  population 
was  1,190  in  1890.  vSalmon  fishing  and  curing 
is  the  chief  industry.  Steamers  ply  once  a 
month  between  Sitka  and  Portland,  Oregon. 
The  harbor  is  small  but  commodious  Mean 
temperature  (forty  three  years):  January,  31.4 
degrees;    August,   55.9    degrees.      Annua'  r* 


173 


Golden  Alaska. 


fall  (thirty  years),  84.06  inches.  Senator  Charles 
Sumner  of  Massachusetts  called  attention  to  the 
fact  that  the  winter  of  Sitka  is  milder  than  that 
of  man>  European  capitals — Berlin,  Copenhagen, 
Berne,  biuttgurt,  Vienna,  or  Turin.  Mr. 
Dall  (p.  255)  says  that  the  shortest  distance 
from  San  Francisco  Harbor  to  Sitka  is  1,296 
miles.  By  the  inner  passage,  between  the  archi- 
pelago and  the  coast  of  British  Columbia  and 
Alaska,  the  distance  is  1,647  miles;  large  sailing 
vessels  have  to  go  outside.  Juneau  (population, 
i»253»  census  of  1890)  is  located  near  the  Lynn 
Channel,  by  which  there  are  trails  to  the 
Yukon.  Mr.  Wilson  ("Guide  to  the  Yukon  Gold 
Fields")  says  that  the  year  1895  witnessed  ? 
great  improvement  in  the  town,  and  Juneau 
is  to-day  a  progressive  city,  with  fine  buildings, 
wharves,  electric  lights,  waterworks,  l.otels,  etc. 

Wrangell,  en  the  northern  part  of  the  island  of 
the  same  name,  is  about  ten  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Stikine,  and  is  the  point  of  dejmrture  for 
traders  and  miners  penetrating  into  the  interior 
by  way  of  that  river.  The  regular  mail  steamer 
from  Portland  touches  here  both  on  the  outward 
and  return  trips.^     There  are  316  inhabitants. 

Douglas  City,  on  Douglas  Island,  near  Juneau, 
has  a  population  of  402.     This  is  the  location  o*^ 


Golden  Alaska. 


173 


r  Charles 

on  to  the 

:han  that 

inhagen, 

1.       Mr. 

distance 

is  1,396 

lie  archi- 

ibia  and 

e  sailing 

pulation, 

he  Lynn 

to    the 

con  Gold 

lessed  ? 

Juneau 

iiildings, 

els,  etc. 

island  of 

le  mouth 

ture  for 

interior 

steamer 

outward 

mts. 

Juneau, 

lation  of 


the  Treadwell  gold  mine,  with,  it  is  said,  the 
largest  quartz  mill  in  the  world.  Yukatat 
(population,  308)  is  on  Yukatat  Bay.  Nuchek  is 
situated  on  Hinchin  brook  Island,  432  miles  by 
sea  from  Sitka,  and  50  miles  from  the  mouth  of 
Copper  River.  It  was  formerly  an  important 
trading  post,  but  much  of  the  commerce  has 
been  transferred. 

In  regard  to  the  Kenai  peninsula,  Mr.  Petroff 
says: 

"Two  of  the  trading  stations  are  located  at 
English  Bay  and  Seldovia,  Three  more  stations, 
consisting  each  of  two  rival  stores,  are  located  at 
Kenai  (R^doute  St.  Nicholas),  on  the  River  Kinik, 
and  the  village  of  Toyonok,  or  West  Foreland. 

"The  central  point  of  all  this  region  is  Kenai, 
once  the  site  of  the  earliest  permanent  settle- 
ment on  the  inlet,  the  remnants  of  which  can 
still  be  seen.  A  Russian  missionary  is  located 
here,  and  a  new  church  is  nearly  completed. 
At  the  time  of  the  transfer  of  the  Territory, 
Kenai  was  still  a  fortified  place,  with  a  high 
stockade  and  octagonal  bastions  at  the  salient 
points.  Both  stockade  and  bastions,  with 
their  primitive  armament  of  one  and  one-half 
pound  falconets,  have  disappeared  since  then, 
but  a  number  of  new  buildings  have  sprung  up, 

19 


174 


Golden  Alaska. 


and  a  thrifty  colony  of  Creoles  has  taken  to  the 
cultivation  of  potatoes  and  turnips  on  a  larger 
scale  than  had  ever  been  attempted  before. 
Perhaps  ten  or  twelve  acres  are  planted  here 
now,  and  several  of  the  families  keep  cattle. 
Some  of  the  choicest  salmon  of  the  Territory  is 
salted  here,  and  is  barreled  and  shipped  to  San 
Francisco.  The  hunting  grounds  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  do  not  yield  their  former  abun- 
dance of  valuable  furs,  but  the  presence  of  the 
missionary  establishment  causes  a  concentration 
of  natives  from  all  parts  of  the  inlet  at  least  once 
a  year  and  brings  considerable  trade  to  this  old 
station.  It  was  on  the  River  Kaknu,  or  Kenai, 
that  the  Russian  mining  engineer  Doroshin 
reported  the  existence  of  surface  gold  in  paying 
quantities.  After  laboring  with  a  numerous 
party  in  the  mountains  for  two  seasons,  at  a 
p-reat  expf^nse  to  the  Russian -American  Com- 
pany, he  returned  with  a  few  ounces  of  the 
precious  metal,  but  he  could  present  no  induce- 
ment to  the  corporation  to  p-^Ov.  ^ed  any  further  in 
this  enterprise.  Since  that  time  American 
prospectors  have  passed  years  in  this  region 
following  up  the  Russian's  tracks,  but  not  one 
of  them  has  thus  far  found  gold  enough  to 
warrant  him  to  work  the  find.     In  forme,  -.ears 


Golden  Alaska. 


175 


Kenai  was  also  the  site  of  a  large  brickyard,  the 
only  establishment  of  the  kind  in  the  colony, 
from  which  all  stations  and  settlements  were 
supplied  with  the  material  for  the  old-fashioned 
Russian  ovens  or  heaters. 

"About  thirty  miles  down  the  coast  from 
Kenai  there  is  another  settlement  deserving  at 
least  a  passing  notice.  A  number  of  'colonial 
citizens,'  or  superannuated  employes  of  the 
old  Russian  company,  were  ordered  to  settle 
some  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago  at  Ninilchik,  and 
their  descendants  live  there  still.  Each  family 
has  quite  a  large  garden  patch  of  turnips  and 
potatoes,  yielding  enough  to  allow  the  owners 
to  dispose  of  a  large  surplus  to  traders  and 
fishermen.  They  have  quite  a  herd  of  cattle, 
and  the  women  actually  make  butter;  but  they 
are  net  sufficiently  advanced  in  farming  lore  to 
construct  or  use  a  churn,  and  the  butter  is 
made  in  a  very  laborious  manner  by  shaking 
the  cream  in  bottles.  They  also  raise  pigs  and 
poultry,  but  on  account  of  the  hogs  running 
to  the  seashore,  digging  clams  and  feeding 
upon  kelp,  and  the  chickens  scratching  among 
fish  bvmes  and  other  offal,  both  their  poultry  and 
pork  are  fishy  to  such  an  extent  as  to  be  made 
unpalatable. 


176 


Golden  Alaska. 


'*In  the  vicinity  of  Anchor  Point,  on  Kuchekmak 
Gulf,  and  on  Graham's,  or  English  Harbor, 
extensive  coal  veins  appear  along  the  bluffs  and 
come  to  the  surface.  The  Russian-American 
Company,  jointly  with  a  San  Francisco  firm, 
worked  here  for  years  to  develop  the  mines  and 
obtain  a  product  good  enough  for  the  use  of 
steamers  and  engines,  but  after  sinking  a  large 
capital  the  enterprise  was  abandoned  before  the 
transfer  of  the  Territory  took  place.  A  few 
remnants  of  the  extensive  buildings  erected  in 
connection  with  these  mining  operations  still 
remain  on  the  north  shore  of  English  Bay.  " 

St.  Paul,  on  the  northern  part  of  Kadiak  Island, 
does  a  large  fur  trade.  There  are  a  number  of 
salmon  canneries  on  the  island,  employing  in 
1890,  according  to  Longman's  Gazetteer  (p. 
764),  1,100  hands.  Karluk  (population,  1,123) 
is  said  to  have  the  largest  cannery-  in  the  world. 
Kadiak  (495),  Alitak  (420),  and  Afognak  (409), 
are  other  villages  on  the  island. 

On  the  Aleutian  Islands  there  are  many  settle- 
ments. The  one  on  Ounga  Island  has  a  popu- 
lation of  about  200,  according  to  Mr.  Petroflf. 
Belkowsky,  on  the  southern  end  of  the  Aliaska 
Peninsula,  has  300  inhabitants.  Near  Protassof 
(100  inhabitants)  there  are  warm  sulphur  springs 


Golden  Alaska. 


177 


and  ponds.  Iliuliuk,  on  Unalaska  Island,  is  a 
point  of  considerable  commercial  importance, 
having  a  church,  custom-house,  trading  estab- 
lishments, wharves,  etc.  Nikolsky,  on  the 
south  of  Unimak  Island,  has  127  inhabitants;  it 
was  formerly  much  larger.  Nazan,  on  Atkha 
Island,  has  a  population  of  230,  described  by  Mr. 
Petroff  as  thrifty  and  prosperous.  St.  Paul,  on 
the  Pribilof  Islands,  had,  in  1882,  a  population 
of  298.  The  Amukhta  (172  degrees  longitude) 
and  the  Unimak  (160  degrees  longitude)  are 
the  two  safe  passes  between  the  islands. 

St.  Michaels,  on  Norton  Sound,  is  one  of  the 
most  important  localities  on  the  coast.  It  is  a 
trading  post,  says  Mr.  Petroff,  where  rival  firms 
have  established  their  depots  for  the  Yukon 
River  and  Arctic  trade.  The  station-keepers 
come  down  from  the  interior  to  the  coast  at  the 
end  of  June  or  first  of  July,  and  each  receives 
his  allotment  of  goods  to  take  back  with  him  in 
sail-boats  and  bidars  during  the  few  months 
when  navigation  on  the  river  is  not  impeded 
by  ice.  The  vessels  supplying  this  depot  can 
seldom  approach  the  post  before  the  end  of  June, 
on  account  of  large  bodies  of  drifting  ice  that 
beset  the  waters  of  Norton  Sound  and  the  straits 
between   St.    Lawrence    Island   and   the   Yukon 


^11 


X78 


Golden  Alaska. 


delta.  St.  Michaels  is  the  usual  landing  place 
for  the  Yukon  valley.  Travelers  follow  a  trail 
across  the  country,  and  reach  Yukon  some  392 
miles  from  its  mouth.  Lieutenant  Allen  says 
that  the  distance  from  St.  Michaels  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Unalaklik  River  is  fifty-five  miles  by 
coast.  He  ascended  the  river  fourteen  miles 
to  a  village  called  Ulukuk,  and  followed  the 
trail  some  thirtv  two  miles  to  the  Autokakat 
River.  A  descent  of  this  stream  for  three  miles 
brought  him  to  the  Yukon. 

Port  Clarence,  on  the  bay  of  the  same  name,  is 
the  place  where  whalers  wait  for  their  tenders 
before  proceeding  through  the  straits.  The 
harbor  is  excellent.  There  is  a  reindeer  farm 
here,  and  the  population  numbers  485.  Point 
Hope  (population,  301),  Cape  Lisburne,  Icy 
Cape,  and  Point  Barrow  are  the  most  important 
points  on  the  northern  coast. 

Nulato  and  Nuklakayet  are  trading  posts  on 
the  Yukon  River,  the  former  being  467  miles 
from  the  sea,  according  to  Lieutenant  Allen, 
and  Nuklakayet  201  miles  farther.  Fort 
Yukon  (about  300  miles  distant  from  Nuklakayet) 
was  formerly  a  trading  post.  Lieutenant 
Schwatka  says  it  was  abandoned  about  1880  as 
not  remunerative,  and  Fort  Reliance  and  Belle 


Golden  Alaska. 


179 


Isle  were  established.  Both  of  these  have  since 
been  abandoned.  At  Fort  Yukon  the  river  is 
said  to  be  seven  miles  wide. 

Circle  City,  between  Fort  Yukon  and  Belle  Isle, 
had  a  population  in  1896  of  1,150.  (Report  on 
Introduction  of  Domestic  Reindeer  into  Alaska, 
by  Sheldon  Jackson,  D.  D.,  Senate  Doc.  No.  49, 
Fifty-fourth  Congress,  second  session.)  Missions 
have  been  established  and  hospitals  proposed. 
There  are  some  forty  white  women  in  the  district. 


FORESTS  OF  ALASKA-VARIETIES  OF 

TIMBER. 

Speaking  of  the  resources  of  Alaska,  Mr. 
Petroff  says: 

"The  timber  of  Alaska  extends  over  a  much 
larger  area  than  a  great  many  surmise.  It 
clothes  the  steep  hills  and  mountain  sides,  and 
chokes  up  the  valleys  of  the  Alexander  archi- 
pelago and  the  contiguous  mainland ;  it  stretches, 
less  dense,  but  still  abundant,  along  that 
inhospitable  reach  of  territory  which  extends 
from  the  head  of  Cross  Sound  to  the  Kenai 
Peninsula,  where,  reaching  down  to  the  west- 
ward and  southwestward  as  far  as  the  eastern  half 
of  Kadiak  Island,  and  thence  across  Shelikof  Strait, 


x8o 


Golden  Alaska. 


it  is  found  on  the  mainland  and  on  the  peninsula 
bordering  on  the  same  latitude,  but  it  is  con- 
fined to  the  interior  opposite  Kadiak,  not  coming 
down  to  the  coast  as  far  eastward  as  Cape 
Douglas.  Here,  however,  it  impinges  on  the 
coast  or  Cook  Inlet,  reaching  down  to  the 
shores  and  extending  around  to  the  Kcnai  Penin- 
sula. From  the  interior  of  the  peninsula  above 
referred  to  the  timber  line  over  the  whole  of  the 
interior  of  the  great  area  of  Alaska  will  be  found 
to  follow  the  coast  line,  at  varjring  distances  of 
from  loo  to  150  miles  from  the  seaboard,  until 
that  section  of  Alaska  north  of  the  Yukon  mouth 
is  reached,  where  a  portion  of  the  coast  of  Nor- 
ton Sound  is  directly  bordered  by  timber  as  far 
north  as  Cape  Denbigh.  From  this  point  to  the 
eastward  and  northeastward  a  line  may  be  drawn 
just  above  the  Yukon  and  its  immediate  tribu- 
taries as  the  northern  limit  of  timber  of  any 
considerable  extent. " 

The  trees,  adds  Mr.  Petroff,  are  mostly  ever- 
green, the  spruce  family  preponderating  to  an 
overwhelming  extent.  Boards  of  the  spruce 
are  not  adapted  for  nice  finishing  work  in  build- 
ing, or  in  cabinet  ware,  or,  indeed,  in  anything 
that  requires  a  finish;  for  under  the  influence 
of  slight  degrees   of  heat,    it    sweats,   exuding 


Golden  Alaska. 


i8i 


minute  globules  of  gum  or  resin,  sticky  and 
difficult  to  remove.  The  white  birch  is  found 
throughout  the  region  that  supports  the  spruce — 
scattered  or  in  small  bodies— chiefly  along  the 
water  courses.  The  alder  and  willow  are  found 
on  all  the  low  lands,  reaching  far  beyond  the  north- 
ern and  western  limit  of  the  spruce.  A  poplar, 
resembling  our  cottonwood,  attaining  great  size 
under  favorable  circumstances,  is  also  found 
in  nearly  all  the  timbered  sections  of  Alaska 
south  of  the  Arctic  Circle.  To  the  westward  of 
the  one  hundred  and  forty-first  meridian,  no 
timber  grows  at  an  altitude  higher  than  1,000  feet 
above  the  sea  level.  A  slightly  curved  line, 
beginning  at  the  intersection  of  the  coast  hills  of 
the  east  shore  of  Norton  Sound  with  the  Unalaklik 
River,  passing  across  the  Yukon  and  Kuskokwim 
rivers,  the  mouth  of  the  Nushagak,  across  the 
Alaska  Peninsula,  and  impinging  upon  the  North 
Pacific  in  the  vicinity  of  Orlova  Bay,  on  Kadiak 
Island,  will  serve  as  the  western  limit  of  spruce 
forest  in  Alaska. 

With  reference  to  quality,  continues  Mr. 
Petroff,  the  trees  may  be  divided  as  follows: 

"First.  Yellow  Cedar. — ^This  is  one  of  the 
most  valuable  woods  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  com- 
bining a  fine,  close  texture  with  great  hardness, 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  S72-4S03 


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m 


V .  "^"S" 


X83 


Golden  Alaska. 


durability,  and  a  peculiar  but  pleasant  odor.  The 
Russians  named  it  'dushnik'  (scented  wood)  on 
account  of  the  last-named  quality.  In  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  Sitka,  on  Baranof  and 
adjoining  islands,  this  tree  was  nearly  extermi- 
nated by  the  Russians,  but  on  the  Kehk  Archipel- 
ago (Koo  Island)  and  on  Prince  of  Wales  Island 
and  a  few  others  of  the  Alexander  Archipelago, 
near  the  British  Columbian  frontier,  consider- 
able bodies  of  it  can  still  be  found,  and  beyond 
the  line,  in  the  Nass  and  Skeena  River  valleys, 
it  is  also  abundant. 

''Second.  Sitka  Spruce. — This  is  the  universal 
forest  tree  of  Alaska,  and  is  found  of  gigantic 
size  on  the  islands  of  the  Alexander  Archipelago 
and  on  the  shores  of  Prince  William  Sound.  Its 
medium  growth  it  appears  to  attain  in  the  valleys 
of  the  -^Yukon  and  Kuskokwim,  while  on  the 
east  side  of  Cook  Inlet  and  on  the  more  north- 
ern uplands,  it  is  quite  stunted  and  dwarfed. 
The  Sitka  spruce  is  most  closely  connected  with 
the  various  requirements  of  all  Alaskan  n.itives 
in  their  domestic  economy,  as  its  timber  is  used 
in  the  construction  of  nearly  every  dwelling 
throughout  the  country,  and  even  those  tribes 
which  inhabit  barren  coasts  far  removed  from 
the  limits  of  coniferous  trees  are  supplied  with 


Golden  Alaska. 


183 


it  through  means  of  freshets  and  ocean  currents. 
The  sappy  outer  portions  of  the  wood  furnishes 
splinters  and  torches  that  light  up  during  the 
long  months  of  winter  the  dark  dwellings  of 
interior  tribes  of  Tinneh  stock,  who  know  not 
the  oil  lamp  of  their  Innuit  neighbors.  The 
same  material  is  also  used  for  sledge  runners 
on  loose  but  crisp-frozen  snow,  over  which 
iron  or  steel  would  drag  with  difficulty,  as  over 
deep,  coarse  sand.  The  Thlinket  and  the 
Hyda  fashion  their  buoyant  and  graceful  canoes, 
both  large  and  small,  from  spruce  log's,  and 
split  from  them  also  the  huge  planks  used  in 
the  construction  of  their  houses.  The  lumber 
manufactured  from  the  Sitka  spruce  is  much  less 
durable  than  the  yellow  cedai ,  very  knotty,  and 
consequently  not  adapted  for  shipbuilding. 

"Third.  Hemlock. — Though  this  tree  gener- 
ally exceeds  the  spruce  in  size,  it  is  of  rare 
occurrence,  much  less  valuable  as  timber,  but 
well  adapted  for  fuel. 

"Fourth.  Balsam  Fir. — This  tree  is  found 
only  in  small,  scattered  bodies,  and  is  of  little 
value  as  timber,  but  the  natives  use  its  bark  for 
tanning  and  other  purposes. 

"Fifth.  Scrub  Pine. — The  scrub  pine  is 
found    throughout    the    interior    of   Alaska    in 


1 84 


Golden  Alaska. 


small,  scattered  bodies  up  to  the  highest  lati- 
tudes, but  it  is  of  no  value  as  timber. 

"Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  forests  of  Alaska 
are  altogether  coniferous,  as  the  small  bodies  of 
b.'rch  and  the  alder  and  willow  thicket  on  the 
lower  Yukon  and  Kuskokwim  Rivers  can  scarcely 
be  considered  to  come  under  this  head.  Aside 
from  the  yellow  cedar,  which  is  rare,  the  timber 
wealth  of  Alaska  consists  of  the  Sitka  spruce, 
which  is  not  only  abundant  and  large  (trees  of 
from  three  to  four  feet  in  diameter  being  quite 
common  in  southeastern  Alaska  and  Prince 
William  Sound),  but  also  generally  accessible. 

*'To  give  even  an  approximate  estimate  of  the 
area  of  timbered  lands  in  Alaska  is  at  present 
impossible,  in  view  of  our  incomplete  knowledge 
of  the  extent  of  mountain  ranges,  which,  though 
falling  within  the  timber  limits,  must  be  deducted 
from  the  superficial  area  of  forest  covering. 

"A  few  small  sawmills  of  exceedingly  limited 
capacity  have  been  erected  at  various  points  in 
southeast srn  Alaska  to  svpply  the  local  demand 
of  trading  posts  and  mining  camps,  but  finished 
building  lumber  is  still  largely  imported  even  into 
this  heavily  timbered  region.  In  all  western 
Alaska  but  one  small  sawmill  is  known  to  exist, 
which    is    on    Wood   Island,    St.    Paul   Harbor, 


Golden  Alaska. 


185 


Kadiak.  This  mill  was  first  set  up  to  supply 
sawdust  for  packing  ice,  but  since  the  collapse 
of  that  industry  its  operations  have  been  spas- 
modic and  not  worth  mentioning.  Lumber  from 
Puget  Sound  and  British  Columbian  mills  is 
shipped  to  nearly  all  ports  in  western  Alaska  for 
the  use  of  whites  and  half-breeds,  while  the 
natives  in  their  more  remote  settlements  obtain 
planks  and  boards  by  the  very  laborious  process 
of  splitting  logs  with  iron  or  ivory  wedges.  On  the 
treeless  isles  of  Shumagin  and  Aleutian  groups, 
as  well  as  in  the  southern  settlements  of  the 
Alaska  Peninsula,  even  firewood  is  imported 
from  more  favored  sections  of  the  Territory,  and 
commands  high  prices. 

"The  driftwood  washed  upon  the  shores  of 
Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic  is  of  very  little  value 
as  building  material  and  cannot  be  worked  into 
lumber. " 


COMMERCE. 

It  is  difficult  to  obtain  statistics  in  regard  to 
the  trade  of  Alaska,  since  the  transportation  of 
imports  and  exports  is  accomplished  less  by  the 
regular  lines  than  through  special  conveyances. 
The  large  companies  engaged  in  business  in  the 


1 86  Golden  Alaska. 

Territory  usually  employ  their  own  ships.  There 
were  some  eighty-seven  trading  houses  reported 
in  Alaska  in  1891,  located  in  not  less  than  sixty 
towns  and  villages,  and  scattered  from  Point 
Barrow  to  the  southern  extremity,  and  from 
Loring  to  Attu.  The  number  of  stores  for  the 
sale  of  general  merchandise  in  southeastern 
Alaska  in  1892  was  forty-seven.  The  imports 
consist  of  merchandise,  machinery,  powder, 
clothing,  provisions,  tools,  furniture,  etc.  The 
exports  are  made  up  of  fish,  furs,  whalebone, 
ivory,  oils,  gold  and  silver  bullion,  and  ores. 
The  total  imports  in  1892,  according  to  the  report 
of  Governor  Knapp,  of  Alaska,  amounted  to  the 
value  of  $2,164,238.  The  exports  are  classified 
as  follows: 

Exports. 

Furs,  curios,   etc.,   from   13   stations, 

southeast  Alaska $    351,000 

1,220,000  codfish  (7,500  tons) 375, 000 

789,294  cases  of  salmon 3,157,176 

9,000  barrels  of  salted  salmon 81,000 

186,250  pounds  whalebone 1,210,625 

1,000  pounds  ivory 5, 000 

12,228  barrels  whale  oil 103,668 

Product  of  the  Killisnoo  manufactory, 

oil  and  guano 114, 000 

Gold  bullion,  Alaska  Treadwell  Gold 

Mining  Company 707,017 

Gold  and   silver   ore   and  bullion    by 

other  companies 400,000 


Golden  Alaska.  187 

13,500  seal  skins  taken  under  the  lease; 
52,087   seal  skins  taken  by  sealing 
fleet;    10,000   seal   skins   taken    by 
natives  and  others 755>587 

Furs  shipped  by  the  Alaska  Commercial 
Company 348,991 

Furs  shipped  by  other  parties,  western 
Alaska 90,000 

Other  products  not  enumerated 60,000 

Total $7,759,064 

Balance  of  exports  above  imports,  $5,594,886. 

Among  the  furs  may  be  mentioned  those  of 
the  sea  otter,  the  seal,  the  beaver,  the  silver 
and  blue  fox,  the  mink,  and  the  marten. 

Mr.  Petroff  ("Alaska,  Its  Population,  Indus- 
tries, and  Resources,"  1884,)  says: 

"In  the  regions  inhabited  by  the  sea-otter 
hunters  and  on  the  Pribiloff  Islands,  a  barrel  of 
flour  per  annum  is  consumed  for  each  man, 
woman,  and  child  more  than  the  average  in 
civilized  communities.  Traders  report  that  the 
demand  for  flour  and  hard  bread  increases 
annually,  ever,  among  the  tribes  of  the  interior. 
The  demand  for  tea,  also,  is  steadily  gaining,  and 
the  consumption  of  sugar  is  universal  wherever  it 
can  be  carried  by  the  traders,  but  is  especially 
large  in  .those  sections  of  Alaska  (especially  in 
the  southeast)  where  the  Creoles  and  natives 
understand    the    manufacture    of    alcohol   from 


i8S 


Golden  Alaska. 


sugar  and  molasses.  Including  the  southeastern 
division,  which  is  supplied  chiefly  from  Port- 
land, Oregon,  and  British  Columbia,  the  annual 
shipment  of  flour  may  be  estimated  at  not  less 
than  10,000  barrels,  or  a  barrel  for  every  three 
individuals  of  its  population.  If  to  this  are  added 
5,000  or  6,000  cases  of  hard  bread,  1,200  chests 
of  tea,  and  2,500  barrels  of  sugar,  it  is  seen 
that  the  trade  with  Alaska  in  these  staples  alone  is 
assuming  considerable  proportions.  The  ship- 
ments of  tobacco  aggregated  from  15,000  to  20,000 
pounds.  Of  the  value  of  dry  goods  it  is  impos- 
sible to  make  an  estimate,  but  it  is  safe  to 
assume  that  it  does  not  equal  that  of  groceries, 
or  provisions." 


MAIL  AND  TRANSPORTATION 
FACILITIES. 

Governor  Knapp,  in  his  report  for  1892,  says: 
•*The  mail  contract  with  the  Pacific  Coast 
Steamship  Company  requires  stoppage  for  receipt 
and  delivery  of  mail  by  their  regular  passenger 
and  freight  steamers,  two  each  month,  at 
seven  ports,  viz. :  Kichkan,  in  Tongass  Narrows, 
Loring,  Wrangell,  Douglas,  Juneau,  Killisnoo, 
and  Sitka.  For  this  service  they  are  paid  the 
sum  of  $18,000  per  year.     When  other  trips  are 


Golden  Alaska. 


189 


made  and  other  places  are  visited  by  the  steam- 
ers of  the  company,  mails  are  also  carried  and 
delivered  on  those  trips  and  at  those  other  places. 
By  this  more  uncertain  service,  several  mails  have 
been  delivered  at  Metlakahtla,  Mary  Island, 
Chilkat,  and  Hoonah,  and  the  mail  has  been 
carried  weekly  instead  of  semi-monthly  to  the 
first-named  places  during  the  months  of  June, 
July,  and  August.  Another  mail  contract 
insures  monciily  mails  served  from  Wrangell  to 
Klawak  and  Howkan  (or  Jackson,  which  is  the 
postoffice  name).  A  small  steamer  or  steam 
launch  plies  between  Wrangell  and  Howkan. 
Between  Sitka  and  Unalaska,  a  distance  of  about 
1,350  miles,  a  small  steamer  has  made  seven 
regular  monthly  trips,  stopping  at  six  places, 
from  April  to  October. " 

In  "Special  Consular  Reports,  Highways  of 
Commerce,"  1895,  p.  29,  it  is  stated  that  the  fare 
from  San  Francisco  to  Wrangell,  by  the  Pacific 
Coast  Steamship  Company,  is  $50 ;  to  Juneau  or 
Sitka,  $70.  There  is  also  steamship  service  from 
St.  Michaels,  via  Unalaska,  to  Seattle  and  San 
Francisco. 

The  report  of  the  Second  Assistant  Postmaster- 
General  of  the  United  States  for  1896  says  that  a 
postoffice  was  authorized  at  Circle  City  March 

18 


1^6 


CoLDEN  Alaska. 


19,  1896.  The  carrier  for  the  first  trip  started 
from  Juneau  June  11,  and  reached  Circle  City 
July  14,  carrying  1,474  letters.  He  returned  by 
way  of  St.  Michael,  reaching  Seattle  August  19. 
On  the  second  trip,  the  carrier  left  Juneau  July 
8,  reaching  Circle  City  August  6.  Another  trip 
was  to  be  made  in  September,  and  four  between 
November  and  May,  1897. 

PROPOSED  RAILROAD. 


In  1886,  in  reply  to  an  inquiry  on  the  part  of 
the  United  States  Senate,  the  Director  of  the 
United  States  Geological  Survey,  Mr.  J.  W. 
Powell,  presented  a  report  on  the  feasibility  of 
constructing  a  railroad  between  the  United  States, 
Asiatic  Russia,  and  Japan.  Mr.  Powell  said 
that  from  all  available  information,  the  proposed 
line  appeared  to  present  no  greater  obstacles 
than  those  already  overcome  in  transcontinental 
railroad  building.  It  was  suggested  that  the  line 
start  from  some  point  on  the  Northern  Pacific 
Railroad  in  Montana  and  run,  via  the  head 
waters  of  the  Peace  River,  to  the  head  waters  of 
the  Yukon;  and  thence  to  some  pomt  on  the 
shore  of  Bering  Sea,  the  total  distance  covered 
being  about  2,765  miles.      A  branch  line  of  375 


Golden  Alaska. 


191 


miles  from  the  head  waters  of  the  Peace 
River  might  run  to  the  mouth  of  the  Stikine 
River,  so  as  to  facilitate  communication  with 
Sitka. 

TERRITORIAL  GOVERNMENT. 

In  1884'  a  district  government  was  created 
by  Congress  for  Alaska,  with  a  governor  and  a 
district  court,  which  sits  alternately  at  Sitka  and 
Wrangell.  The  laws  are  those  of  Oregon.  There 
is  a  land  office  at  Sitka.  Commissioner  Hermann, 
of  the  United  States  General  Land  Office,  on 
July  31,  1897,  stated  that  the  mineral  land  laws 
of  the  United  States,  the  town-site  laws  (providing 
for  the  incorporation  of  town  sites  and  acquire- 
ment of  title  thereto  from  the  Government  to  the 
trustee),  and  the  law  providing  for  trade  and 
manufactures,  giving  each  qualified  person  160 
acres  of  land  in  a  square  and  compact  form,  are 
applicable  in  Alaska.  The  coal-land  regulations 
and  the  public-land  laws  do  not  extend  to  Alaska, 
as  the  Territory  is  expressly  excluded  by  the 
laws  themselves  from  their  operation. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  United  States  officers 
in  Alaska,  furnished  by  the  Department  of  the 
Interior,  August  7,  1897: 

John  G.  Brady,  governor,  Sitka. 


192 


Golden  Alaska. 


Albert  D.  Elliot,  clerk  of  the  court  and 
ex-officio  secretary  of  Alaska,  Sitka. 

William  L.  Distin,  surveyor-general,  Sitka. 

John  W.  Dudley,  register  of  the  land  office, 
Sitka. 

Ruswell  Shelly,  receiver  of  public  moneys, 
Sitka. 

Caldwell  W.  Tutt:e,  commissioner  at  Sitka. 

Kenneth  M.  Jackson,  commissioner  at  Wrangell. 

Lycurgus  R.  Woodward,  commissioner  at 
Unalaska. 

John  Y,  Ostrander,  commissioner  at  Juneau 
City. 

Philip  Gallaher,  commissioner  at  Kadiak. 

John  E.  Crane,  commissioner  at  Circle  City. 

L.  B.  Shepard,  commissioner  at  St.  Michaels. 

John  U.  Smith,  commissioner  at  Dyea. 

Charles  H.  Isham,  commissioner  at  Unga. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  judicial  officers  of 
the  United  States  in  Alaska,  furnished  by  the 
Department  of  Justice,  August  7,  1897 : 

Charles  S.  Johnson,  district  judge,  Sitka. 

Burton  E.  Bennett,  United  States  attorney, 
Sitka. 

Alfred  J.  Daly,  assistant  United  States  attorney, 
Sitka. 

James  M.  Shoup,  United  States  marshal,  Sitka. 


Golden  Alaska. 


193 


)f 
le 


FROM  REPORTS  OF  WILLIAM   OGILVIE, 

CHIEF  SURVEYOR,  DOMINION 

OF  CANADA. 


SURVEY  OF  FORTY  MILE  RIVER,   FROM  ITS 

MOUTH  TO  THE  INTERNATIONAL 

BOUNDARY  LINE. 

*'On  the  9th  of  February  I  started  with  the 
survey  from  where  I  had  left  it  in  the  summer, 
as  already  mentioned. 

"During    the    progress     of     this    work    the 
weather  was  cold,  and  as  the  days  were  only  four 
or  five  hours  long  the  progress  was  necessarily 
slow,  so  that  I  did   not  complete  the  survey  to 
the  boundary  until  the  12th.      The  distance  froin 
the  mouth  of  the   Forty  Mile  River  up    it    to 
the  boundary  is,  by  the  river,  twenty-three  miles. 
I  marked  the  intersection  of  the  river  by  the 
boundary  by  blazing  trees  on  both  sides    and 
marked  on  some  of  the  trees  the  letters  *A'  and 
*C'  on  the  west  and  east  sides,  respectively,  for 
Alaska  and  Canada. 

"The  natural  features  of  the  ground  here 
afford  a  good  mark.  On  the  north  side  of  the 
river  two  small  creeks  fall  into  Forty  Mile  River, 


194 


Golden  Alaska. 


almost  together,  and  between  them  there  is  a 
sharp,  rocky  mound  about  150  feet  high.  This 
mound  stands  where  the  boundary  crosses  the 
river,  and  from  this  point  one  can  see  northward 
up  the  valleys  of  the  creek  for  several  miles. 
This  is  the  first  place  on  the  river  where  such  a 
distant  view  can  be  had. 

"I  returned  to  the  post  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river,  and  spent  two  days  with  the  traders  Harper 
and  McQuestion  and  the  miners  who  were 
camped  around. 

"Harper,  McQuestion  &  Co.  moved  from 
Stewart  River  down  to  tiiis  point  in  the  spring 
of  1887,  so  as  to  be  where  most  of  the  miners 
were  located.  On  Forty  Mile  River,  in  the  season 
of  1886,  coarse  gold  was  found,  the  first  discovery 
on  the  Yukon  or  any  of  its  tributaries.  Coarse 
gold  is  the  desideratum  of  all  gold  miners,  and 
as  soon  as  the  news  of  the  discovery  spread  to 
the  other  mining  camps,  where  nothing  but  fine 
or  dust  gold  had  yet  been  found,  they  all 
repaired  to  the  coarse  gold  diggings  on  Forty 
Mile. 

**  About  one  hundred  miners  wintered  in  the 
country,  most  of  whom  camped  at  Forty  Mile. 
A  few  wintered  down  at  the  old  trading 
post  built  by  F.   Mercier,  and    named    by  him 


Golden  Alaska. 


195 


Belle  Isle.  This  post  is  where  Lieutenant 
Schwatka  located  the  International  Boundary, 
but  it  is  about  twelve  miles  below  the  boundary 
by  my  survey  and  observations. 

"When  I  was  at  Forty  Mile  River  the  miners 
were  very  anxious  to  see  me  and  to  know  our  min- 
ing regulations  and  laws.  I  explained  everything 
they  inquired  about  as  fully  as  my  knowledge 
and  the  documents  at  my  disposal  would  permit. 
Many  of  them,  who  were  used  to  the  United 
States  system  of  each  mining  community  making 
its  own  by4aws,  based  on  the  general  mining  law 
of  the  country,  and  electing  their  own  recorder 
to  attend  to  the  regulations  and  see  them  carried 
out,  thought  some  of  our  regulations  rather 
stringent  and  hard.  I  heard  their  statements 
and  answered  such  of  them  as  I  could,  and  also 
promised  to  lay  their  views  before  the  depart- 
ment. This  I  have  already  done,  in  a  report 
sent  in  by  me  in  the  spring  of  1888.  As  this 
report  is  of  purely  administrative  import,  it  ic;  not 
necessary  to  quote  it  here. 

"During  the  winter  there  were  many  cases  of 
sickness  at  Forty  Mile,  most  of  them  scurvy. 
There  were  three  deaths,  only  one  of  which  was 
due  to  scurvy. 

"I  returned  to  my  quarters  on  the   17th  of 


196 


Golden  Alaska. 


February,  and  immediately  set  the  party  at 
work  drawing  the  canoes  and  instruments,  and 
aboutiour  months'  provisions,  down  to  Belle  Isle, 
about  fifteen  miles  down  the  river  from  my 
house.  This  was  to  be  our  starting  point  for  the 
Mackenzie  River. 

DESCRIPTION  OF  THE  YUKON,  ITS  AFFLUENT 
STREAMS  AND  THE  ADJACENT  COUNTRY. 

**I  will  now  give,  from  my  own  observation  and 
frona  information  received,  a  more  detailed  de- 
scription of  the  Lewes  River,  its  affluent  streams, 
and  the  resources  of  the  adjacent  country. 

"For  the  purpose  of  navigation  a  description 
of  the  Lewes  River  begins  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Bennet.  Above  that  point,  and  between  it  and 
Lake  Lindcman,  there  is  only  about  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile  of  river,  which  is  not  more  than 
fifty  or  sixty  yards  wide  and  two  or  three  feet 
deep,  and  is  so  swift  and  rapid  that  navigation 
is  out  of  the  question. 

"Lake     Lindeman    is  about  five   miles  long 

and  half  a  mile  wide.      It  is  deep  enough  for  all 

ordinary    purposes.      Lake  Bennet*  is  twenty- 

'  A  small  saw-mill  has  been  erected  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Bennet ;  lumber  for  boat  building  sells  at  $100  per  M.  Boats 
25  feet  long  and  5  feet  beam  are  $60  each.  Last  year  the 
ice  broke  up  in  the  lake  on  the  12th  June,  but  this  season  is 
earlier  and  the  boats  are  expected  to  go  down  the  lake 
about  the  ist  of  June. 


Golden  Alaska. 


197 


six  and  a  quarter  miles  long,  for  the  upper  four- 
teen of  which  it  is  about  half  a  mile  wide. 
About  midway  in  its  length  an  arm  comes  in 
from  the  west,  which  Schwatka  appears  to 
have  mistaken  for  a  river,  and  named  Wheaton 
River.  This  arm  is  wider  than  the  other  arm 
down  to  that  point;  and  is  reported  by  Indians 
to  be  longer  and  heading  in  a  glacier  which  lies 
in  the  pass  at  the  head  of  Chilkoot  Inlet.  This 
arm  is,  as  far  as  seen,  surrounded  by  high 
mountains,  apparently  much  higher  than  those 
on  the  arm  we  traveled  down.  Below  the  junc- 
tion of  the  two  arms  the  lake  is  about  one  and  a 
half  miles  wide,  with  deep  water.  Above  the 
forks  the  water  of  the  east  branch  is  muddy. 
This  is  caused  by  the  streams  from  the  numerous 
glaciers  on  the  head  of  the  tributaries  of  Lake 
Lindeman. 

**A  stream  which  flows  into  Lake  Bennet  at 
the  southwest  corner  is  also  very  dirty,  and  has 
shoaled  quite  a  large  portion  of  the  lake  at  its 
mouth!  The  beach  at  the  lower  end  of  this  lake 
is  comparatively  flat  and  the  water  shoal.  A 
deep,  wide  valley  extends  northward  from  the 
north  end  of  the  lake,  apparently  reaching  to  the 
caiion,  or  a  short  distance  above  it.  This  may 
have  been  originally  a  course  for  the  waters  of 


,{pijlj|U!APi,iii()|i|3, 


198 


Golden  Alaska. 


the  river.  The  bottom  of  the  valley  is  wide  and 
sandy,  and  covered  with  scrubby  timber,  prin- 
cipally poplar  and  pitch-pine.  The  waters  of  the 
lake  empty  at  the  extreme  northeast  angle 
through  a  channel  not  more  than  one  hundred 
yards  wide,  which  soon  expands  into  what 
Schwatka  called  Lake  Nares*.  Through  this 
narrow  channel  there  is  quite  a  current,  and  more 
than  seven  feet  of  water,  as  a  six-foot  paddle 
and  a  foot  of  arm  added  to  its  length  did  not  reach 
the  bottom. 

"The  hills  at  the  upper  end  of  Lake  Linde- 
man  rise  abruptly  from  the  water's  edge.  At 
the  lower  end  they  are  neither  so  steep  nor  so 
high. 

"Lake  Nares  is  only  two  and  a  half  miles  long, 
and  its  greatest  width  is  about  a  mile ;  it  is  not 
deep,  but  is  navigable  for  boats  drawing  five 
or  six  feet  of  water;  it  is  separated  from  Lake 
Bennet  by  a  shallow,  sandy  point  of  not  more 
than  two  hundred  yards  in  length. 

"No  streams  of  any  consequence  empty  into 
either  of  these  lakes.  A  small  river  flows  into 
Lake  Bennet  on  the  west  side,  a  short  distance 

*The  connectinpf  waters  between  Lake  Bennet  and 
Tagish  Lake  constitute  what  is  now  callecl  Caribou  Cross- 
ing. 


Golden  Alaska. 


199 


north  of  the  fork,  and  another  at  the  extreme 
northwest  angle,  but  neither  of  them  is  of  any 
consequence  in  a  navigable  sense. 

"Lake  Nares  flows  through  a  narrow,  curved 
channel  above  Bove  Lake  (Schwatka).  This 
channel  is  not  more  than  six  or  seven  hundred 
yards  long,  and  the  water  in  it  appears  to  be 
sufficiently  deep  for  boats  that  could  navigate  the 
lake.  The  land  between  the  lakes  along  this 
channel  is  low,  swampy,  and  covered  with  wil- 
lows, and,  at  the  stage  in  which  I  saw  it,  did 
not  rise  more  than  three  feet  above  the  water. 
The  hills  on  the  southwest  side  slope  up  easily, 
and  are  not  high;  on  the  north  side  the  deep 
valley  already  referred  to  borders  it,  and  on  the 
east  side  the  mountains  rise  abruptly  from  the 
lake  shore. 

"Bove  Lake  (called  Tagish  Lake  by  Dr.  Daw- 
son) is  about  a  mile  wide  for  the  first  two  miles 
of  its  length,  when  it  is  joined  by  what  the  miners 
liave  called  the  Windy  Arm.  One  of  the  Tagish 
Indians  informed  me  they  called  it  Takone  Lake. 
Here  the  lake  expands  to  a  width  of  about  two 
miles  for  a  distance  of  some  three  miles,  when  it 
suddenly  narrows  to  about  half  a  mile  for  a  dis- 
tance of  a  little  over  a  mile,  after  which  it  widens 
again  to  about  a  mile  and  a  half  or  more. 


2O0 


Golden  Alaska. 


"Ten  miles  from  the  head  of  the  lake  it  is 
joined  by  the  Taku  Arm  from  the  south.  This 
arm  must  be  of  considerable  length,  as  it  can  be 
seen  for  .  long  distance,  and  its  valley  can  be 
traced  through  the  mountains  much  farther  than 
the  lake  itself  can  be  seen.  It  is  apparently  over 
a  mile  wide  at  its  mouth  or  junction. 

**.Dr.  Dawson  includes  Bove  Lake  and  these  two 
arms  under  the  common  name  of  Tagish  Lake. 
This  is  much  more  simple  and  comprehensive 
than  the  various  names  g^ven  them  by  travelers. 
These  waters  collectively  are  the  fishing  and 
hunting  grounds  of  the  Tagish  Indians,  and  as 
they  are  really  one  body  of  water,  there  is  no 
reason  why  they  should  not  be  all  included  under 
one  name. 

"From  the  junction  with  the  Taku  Arm  to  the 
north  end  of  the  lake  the  distance  is  about  six 
miles,  the  greater  part  being  over  two  miles  wide. 
The  west  side  is  very  flat  and  shallow,  so  much 
so  that  it  was  impossible  in  many  places  to  get 
our  canoes  to  the  shore,  and  quite  a  distance  out 
in  the  lake  there  was  not  more  than  five  feet  of 
water.  The  members  of  my  party  who  were  in 
charge  of  the  large  boat  and  outfit,  went  down 
the  east  side  of  the  lake  and  reported  the 
depth  about  the  same  as  I  found  on  the  west 


Golden  Alaska. 


20I 


side,  with  many  large  rocks.  They  passed 
through  it  in  the  night  in  a  rainstorm,  and  were 
much  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  the  boat  and 
provisions.  It  would  appear  that  this  part  of  the 
lake  requires  some  improvement  to  make  it  in 
keeping  with  the  rest  of  the  water  system  with 
which  it  is  connected. 

"Where  the  river  debouches  from  it,  it  is  about 
one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide,  and  for  a  short 
time  not  more  than  five  or  six  feet  deep.  The 
depth  is,  however,  soon  increased  to  ten  feet  or 
more,  and  so  continues  down  to  what  Schwatka 
calls  Marsh  Lake.  The  miners  call  it  Mud  Lake, 
but  on  this  name  they  do  not  appear  to  be  agreed, 
many  of  them  calling  the  lower  part  of  Tagish 
or  Bove  Lake  '  Mud  Lake, '  on  account  of  its  shal- 
lowness and  flat,  muddy  shores,  as  seen  along 
the  west  side,  the  side  nearly  always  traveled, 
as  it  is  more  sheltered  from  the  prevailing 
southerly  winds.  The  term  *Mud  Lake' is,  how- 
ever, not  applicable  to  this  lake,  as  only  a  com- 
paratively small  part  of  V:  is  shallow  or  muddy, 
and  it  is  nearly  as  inapplicable  to  Marsh  Lake,  as 
the  latter  is  not  markedly  muddy  along  the  west 
side,  and  from  the  appearance  of  the  east  shore 
one  would  not  judge  it  to  be  so,  as  the  banks 
appear  to  be  high  and  gravelly. 


■'MJ.'ii",;., 


202 


Golden  Alaska. 


"Marsh  Lake  is  a  little  over  nineteen  miles 
long,  and  averages  about  two  miles  in  width.  I 
tried  to  determine  the  width  of  it  as  I  went  along 
with  my  survey,  by  taking  azimuths  of  points 
on  the  eastern  shore  from  different  stations  of 
the  survey;  but  in  only  one  case  did  I  suc- 
ceed, as  there  were  no  prominent  marks  on 
that  shore  which  could  be  identified  from  more 
than  one  place.  The  piece  of  river  connecting 
Tagish  and  Marsh  Lakes  is  about  five  miles 
long,  and  averages  150  to  200  yards  in  width,  and, 
as  already  mentioned,  is  deep,  except  for  a  short 
distance  at  the  head.  On  it  are  situated  the 
only  Indian  houses  to  be  found  in  the  interior 
with  any  pretension  to  skill  in  construction. 
They  show  much  more  labor  and  imitativeness 
than  one  knowing  anything  about  the  Indian  in 
his  native  state  would  expect.  The  plan  is  evi- 
dently taken  from  the  Indian  houses  on  the  coast, 
which  appears  to  me  to  be  a  very  poor  copy  of  the 
houses  which  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  serv- 
ants build  around  their  trading  posts.  These 
houses  do  not  appear  to  have  been  used  for  some 
time  past,  and  are  almost  in  ruins.  The  Tagish 
Indians  are  now  generally  on  the  coast,  as  they 
find  it  much  easier  to  live  there  than  in  their  own 


ppf^pp^ 


CoLDEN  Alaska. 


ioj 


country.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  what  they  make 
in  their  own  country  is  taken  from  them  by  the 
Coast  Indians,  so  that  there  is  no  inducement 
for  them  to  remain. 

"The  Lewes  River,  where  it  leaves  Marsh 
Lake,  is  about  200  yards  wide,  and  averages  this 
width  as  far  east  as  the  cafion.  I  did  not  try  to 
find  bottom  anywhere  as  I  went  along,  except 
where  I  had  reason  to  think  it  shallow,  and 
there  I  always  tried  with  my  paddle.  I  did  not 
anywhere  find  bottom  with  this,  which  shows 
that  there  is  no  part  of  this  stretch  of  the 
river  with  less  than  six  feet  of  water  at  medium 
height,  at  which  stage  it  appeared  to  me  the 
river  was  at  that  time. 

'*From  the  head  of  Bennet  Lake  to  the  carton 
the  corrected  distance  is  ninety-five  miles,  all 
of  which  is  navigable  for  boats  drawing  five  feet 
or  more.  Add  to  this  the  westerly  arm 
of  Lake  Bennet  and  the  Takone,  or  Windy 
Arm  of  Tagish  Lake,  each  about  fifteen  miles 
in  length,  and  the  Taku  Arm  of  the  latter  lake, 
of  unknown  length,  but  probably  not  less  than 
thirty  miles,  and  we  have  a  stretch  of  water  of 
upward  of  one  hundred  miles  in  length,  all  easily 
navigable;  and,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  easily 
connected  with  Taiya  Inlet  through  the  White  Pass. 


I' I 


■M.:._  r- ■  .-I 


204 


Golden  Alaska. 


««- 


'  No  streams  of  any  importance  enter  any  of 
these  lakes  so  far  as  I  know.  A  river,  called  by 
Schwatka  *McClintock  River,'  enters  Marsh  Lake 
at  the  lower  end  from  the  east.  It  occupies  a 
large  valley,  as  seen  from  the  westerly  side  of  the 
lake,  but  the  stream  is  apparently  unimportant. 
Another  small  stream,  apparently  only  a  creek, 
enters  whe  southeast  angle  of  the  lake.  It  is  i^ot 
probable  that  any  stream  coming  from  the  east 
side  of  the  lake  is  of  importance,  as  the  strip  of 
country  between  the  Lewes  and  Teslintoo  is  not 
more  than  thirty  or  forty  miles  in  width  at  this 
point. 

"TheTakti  Arm  of  Tagish  Lake  is,  so  far,  with 
the  exception  of  reports  from  Indians,  unknown ; 
but  it  is  equally  improbable  that  any  river  of 
importance  enters  it,  as  it  is  so  near  the  source 
of  the  waters  flowing  northward.  However,  this 
is  a  question  that  can  only  be  decided  by  a 
proper  exploration.  The  caiion  I  have  already 
described,  and  will  only  add  that  it  is  five-eighths 
of  a  mile  long,  about  100  feet  wide,  with  per- 
pendicular banks  of  basaltic  rock  from  60  to  100 
feet  high. 

"Below  the  caiion  proper  there  is  a  stretch  of 
rapids  for  about  a  mile ;  then  about  half  a  mile  of 


L 


Golden  Alaska. 


aos 


smooth  water,  following  which  are  the  White 
Horse  Rapids,  which  are  three-eighths  of  a  mile 
long  and  unsafe  for  boats. 

**The  total  fall  in  the  caiion  and  succeeding 
rapids  was  measured  and  found  to  be  thirty- 
two  feet.  Were  it  ever  necessarj'  to  make 
this  part  of  the  river  navigable,  it  will  be  no  easy 
task  to  overcome  the  obstacles  at  this  point ;  but 
a  tram  or  railway  could,  with  very  little  difficulty, 
be  constructed  along  the  east  side  of  the  river 
past  the  caiion. 

"For  some  distance  below  the  White  Horse 
Rapids  the  current  is  swift  and  the  river  wide, 
with  many  gravel  bars.  The  reach  between 
these  rapids  and  Lake  Labarge,  a  distance  A 
twenty-seven  and  a  half  miles,  is  all  smooth 
water,  with  a  strong  current.  The  average  width 
is  about  150  yards.  There  is  no  impediment  to 
navigation  other  than  the  swift  current,  and  this 
is  no  stronger  than  on  the  lower  part  of  the 
river,  which  is  already  navigated;  nor  is  it 
worse  than  on  the  Saskatchewan  and  Red  Rivers 
in  the  more  eastern  part  of  our  territory. 

"About  midway  in  this  stretch  the  Tahkeena 
River*  joins  the  Lewes.      This  river  is,  appar- 

*The  Tahkeena  was  formerly  much  used  by  the  Chilkat 
Indians  as  a  means  of  reaching  the  interior,  but  never  by 
the  minere,  owing  to  the  distance  from  the  sea  to  its  head. 
14 


ao6 


(jrOLDEN   AlaSRA. 


ently,  about  half  the  size  of  the  latter.  Its  waters 
are  muddy,  indicating  its  passage  through  a 
clayey  district.  I  got  some  indefinite  informa- 
tion about  this  river  from  an  Indian  who  hap- 
pened to  meet  me  just  below  its  mouth,  but  I 
could  not  readily  make  him  understand  me,  and 
his  replies  were  a  compound  of  Chinook,  Tagfish, 
and  signs,  and  therefore  largely  unintelligible. 
From  what  I  could  understand  with  any  certainty, 
the  river  was  easy  to  descend,  there  being  no 
bad  rapids,  and  it  came  out  of  a  lake  much 
larger  than  any  I  had  yet  passed. 

*'Lake  Labarge  is  thirty-one  miles  long.  In 
the  upper  thirteen  it  varies  from  three  to  four 
miles  in  width ;  it  then  narrows  to  about  two  miles 
for  a  distance  of  seven  miles,  when  it  begins  to 
widen  again,  and  gradually  expands  to  about  two 
and  a  half  or  three  miles,  the  lower  six  of  it 
maintaining  the  latter  width.  The  survey  was 
carried  along  the  western  shore,  and  while  so 
engaged  I  determined  the  width  of  the  upper 
wide  part  by  triangulation  at  two  points,  the 
width  of  the  narrow  middle  part  at  three  points, 
and  the  width  of  the  lower  part  at  three  points. 
Dr.  Dawson,  on  his  way  out,  made  a  track  sur- 
vey of  the  eastern  shore.  The  western  shore  is 
irregular   in   many  places,   being  indented  by 


Golden  Alaska. 


307 


large  bays,  especially  at  the  upper  and  lower 
ends.  These  bays  are,  as  a  rule,  shallow,  more 
especially  those  at  the  lower  end. 

"Just  above  where  the  lake  narrows  in  the 
middle  there  is  a  large  island.  It  is  three  and  a 
half  miles  long  and  about  half  a  mile  in  width. 
It  is  shown  on  Schwatka's  map  as  a  peninsula, 
and  called  by  him  Richtofen  Rocks.  How  he 
cpme  to  think  it  a  peninsula  I  cannot  understand, 
as  it  is  well  out  in  the  lake;  the  nearest  point 
of  it  to  the  western  shore  is  upward  of  half  a  mile 
distant,  and  the  extreme  width  of  the  lake  here  is 
not  more  than  five  miles,  which  includes  the 
depth  of  the  deepest  bays  on  the  western  side. 
It  is,  therefore,  difficult  to  understand  that  he 
did  not  see  it  as  an  island.  The  upper  half  of 
this  island  is  gravelly,  and  does  not  rise  very 
high  above  the  lake.  The  lower  end  is  rocky 
and  high,  tiie  rock  being  of  a  bright  red  color. 

**At  the  lower  end  of  the  lake  there  is  a  large 
valley  extending  northward,  which  has  evidently 
at  one  time  been  the  outlet  of  the  lake.  Dr. 
Dawson  has  noted  it  and  its  peculiarities. 

"The  width  of  the  Lewes  River  as  it  leaves  the 
lake  is  the  same  as  at  its  entrance,  about  200 
yards.  Its  waters  when  I  was  there  were  murky. 
This  is  caused  by  the  action  of  the  waves  on  the 


"7^ 


208 


Golden  Alaska. 


shore  along  the  lower  end  of  the  lake.  The 
water  at  the  upper  end  and  at  the  middle  of  the 
lake  is  quite  clear,  so  much  so  that  the  bottom 
can  be  distinctly  seen  at  a  depth  of  five  or  six  feet. 
The  wind  blows  almost  constantly  down  this 
lake,  and  in  a  high  wind  it  gets  very  rough. 
The  miners  complain  of  much  detention  owing 
to  this  cause,  and  certainly  I  cannot  complain  of 
a  lack  of  wind  while  I  was  on  the  lake.  This 
lake  was  named  after  one  Mike  Labarge,  who 
was  engaged  by  the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company  exploring  the  river  and  adjacent 
country  for  the  purpose  of  connecting  Europe 
and  America  by  telegraph  through  British 
Columbia  and  Alaska,  and  across  Bering  Strait 
to  Asia,  and  thence  to  Europe.  This  explora- 
tion took  place  in  1867,  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  Labarge  then,  nor  for  some  years  after, 
saw  the  lake  called  by  his  name.  The  successful 
laying  of  the  Atlantic  cable,  in  1866,  put  a  stop 
to  this  project,  and  the  exploring  parties  sent 
out  were  recalled  as  soon  as  word  could  be  got 
to  them.  It  seems  that  Labarge  had  got  up  as 
far  as  the  Pelly  before  he  received  his  recall; 
he  had  heard  something  of  a  large  lake  some 
distance    farther    up    the  river,   and  afterward 


Golden  Alaska. 


209 


spoke  of  it  to  some   traders  and  miners,    who 
called  it  after  him. 

"After  leaving  Lake  Labarge,  the  river,  for  a 
distance  of  about  five  miles,  preserves  a  generally 
uniform  width  and  an  easy  current  of  about  four 
miles  per  hour.  It  then  makes  a  short  turn 
round  a  low  gravel  point,  and  flows  in  exactly  the 
opposite  of  its  general  course  for  a  mile,  when  it 
again  turns  sharply  to  its  general  direction. 
The  current  around  this  curve  and  for  some  dis- 
tance below  it — in  all,  four  or  five  miles — is 
very  swift.  I  timed  it  in  several  places,  and 
found  it  from  six  to  seven  miles  an  hour.  It 
then  moderates  to  four  or  five,  and  continues  so 
until  the  Teslintoo  River  is  reached,  thirty-one 
and  seven-tenths  miles  from  Lake  Labarge. 
The  average  width  of  this  part  of  the  river  is 
about  150  yards,  and  the  depth  is  sufficient  to 
afford  passage  for  boat.-  drawing  at  least  five 
feet.  It  is,  as  a  rule,  crooked,  and  consequently 
a  little  difficult  to  navigate. 

"The  Teslintoo*  was  so  called  by  Dr.  Dawson — 

*The  limited  amount  of  prospecting  that  has  been  done 
on  this  river  is  said  to  be  very  satisfactory,  fine  gold  having 
been  found  in  all  parts  of.  the  river.  The  lack  of  supplies 
is  the  great  drawback  to  its  development,  and  this  will  not 
be  overcome  to  any  extent,  until  by  some  means  heavy 
freight  can  be  brought  over  the  coast  range  to  the  head  of 
the  river.  Indeed,  owing  to  the  difficulties  attending 
access  and  transportation,  tha  great  drawback  to  the  entire 


210 


Golden  Alaska. 


this,  according  to  information  obtained  by  him, 
being  the  Indian  name.  It  is  called  by  the  miners 
*  Hootalinkwa, '  or  Hotalinqua,  and  was  called  by 
Schwatka,  who  appears  to  have  bestowed  no  other 
attention  to  it,  the  Newberry,  although  it  is 
apparently  much  larger  than  the  Lewes.  This  is 
so  apparent  that  in  my  interim  reports  I  stated  it 
as  a  fact.  Owing  to  circumstances  already 
narrated,  I  had  not  time  while  at  the  mouth  to 
make  any  measurements  to  determine  the  relative 
size  of  the  rivers ;  but  on  his  way  o  t  Dr. 
Dawson  made  these  measurements,  and  his  report, 
before  referred  to,  gives  the  following  values  of 
the  cross  sections  of  each  stream:  Lewes,  3,015 
feet;  Teslintoo,  3,809  feet.  In  the  same  connec- 
tion he  states  that  the  Lewes  appeared  to  be  about 
one  foot  above  its  lowest  summer  level,  while 
the  Teslintoo  appeared  to  be  at  its  lowest  level. 
Assuming  this  to  be  so,  and  taking  his  widths 
as  our  data,  it  would  reduce  his  cross  section  of 
th(j  Lewes  to  2,595  feet.  Owing,  however,  to 
the  current  in  the  Lewes,  as.  determined  by  Dr. 
Dawson,  being  just  double  that  of  the  Teslintoo, 

Yukon  district  at  present  is  the  want  of  heavy  mining 
machinery  and  the  scarcity  of  supplies.  The  government 
being  aware  of  the  requirements  and  possibilities  of  the 
countr}\  has  undertaken  the  task  of  making  preliminary 
surveys  for  trails  and  railroads,  and  no  doubt  in  the  near 
future  the  avenue  for  better  and  quicker  transportation 
facilities  will  be  opened  up. 


Golden  Alaska. 


211 


the  figures  being  5.68  and  2.88  miles  per  hour 
respectively,  the  discharge  of  the  Lewes,  taking 
these  figures  again,  is  18,644  feet,  and  of  the 
Teslintoo  11,436  feet.  To  reduce  the  Lewes  to 
its  lowest  level,  the  doctor  says,  would  m^ke  its 
discharge  15,600  feet. 

**The  water  of  the  Teslintoo  is  of  a  dark  brown 
color,  similar  in  appearance  to  the  Ottawa  River 
water,  and  a  little  turbid.  Notwithstanding  the 
difference  of  volume  of  discharge,  the  Teslintoo 
changes  completely  the  character  of  the  river  below 
the  junction,  and  a  person  coming  up  the  river 
would,  at  the  forks,  unhesitatingly  pronounce 
the  Teslintoo  the  main  strecm.  The  water  of 
the  Lewes  is  blue  in  color,  and  at  the  time  I 
speak  of  was  somewhat  dirty— "hot  enough  so, 
however,  to  prevent  one  seeing  to  a  depth  of 
two  or  three  feet.  ♦ 

"At  the  junction  of  the  Lewes  and  Teslintoo  I 
met  two  or  three  families  of  the  Indians  who  hunt 
in  the  vicinity.  One  of  them  could  speak  a  little 
Chinook.  As  I  had  two  men  with  me  who  under- 
stood his  jargon  perfectly,  with  their  assistance, 
I  tried  to  get  some  information  from  him  about 
the  river.  He  told  me  the  river  was  easy  to 
ascend,  and  presented  the  same  appearance  eight 
days'  journey  up  as  at  the  mouth;  then  n^  lake 


213 


Golden  Alaska. 


was  reached,  which  took  one  day  to  cross;  the 
river  was  then  followed  again  for  half  a  day  to 
another  lake,  which  took  two  days  to  traverse; 
into  this  lake  emptied  a  stream  which  they  used 
as  a  highway  to  the  coast,  passing  by  way  of 
the  Taku  River.  He  said  it  took  four  days  when 
they  had  loads  to  carry,  from  the  head  of  canoe 
navigation  on  the  Teslintoo  to  salt  water  on  the 
Taku  Inlet ;  but  when  they  come  light,  they  took 
only  one  to  two  days.  He  spoke  also  of  a  stream 
entering  the  large  lake  from  the  east  which  came 
from  a  distance;  but  they  did  not  seem  to  know 
much  about  it,  and  considered  it  outside  their 
country.  If  their  time  intervals,  are  approxi- 
mately accurate,  they  mean  that  there  are  about 
200  miles  of  good  river  to  the  first  lake,  as 
they  ought  easily  to  make  twenty-five  miles  a 
day  on  the  river  as  I  saw  it.  The  lake  takes  one 
day  to  traverse,  and  is  at  least  twenty-five  miles 
long,  followed  by,  say,  twelve  of  river,  which 
brings  us  to  the  large  lake,  which  takes  two  days 
to  cross,  say  fifty  or  sixty  more — in  all,  about  292 
miles — say  300 — to  the  head  of  canoe  navigation; 
while  the  distance  from  the  head  of  Lake  Ben- 
net  to  the  junction  is  only  188.  Assuming 
the  course  of  the  Teslintoo  to  be  nearly  souUi 
(it  is  a  little  to  the  east  of  it),  and  throwing  out 


Golden  Alaska. 


213 


every  fourth  mile  for  bends,  the  remainder  gives 
us  in  arc  three  degrees  and  a  quarter  of  latitude, 
which,  deducted  from  61  degrees  40  minutes, 
the  latitude  of  the  junction,  gives  us  58  degrees 
25  minutes,  or  nearly  the  latitude  of  Juneau. 

*'To  make  sure  that  I  understood  the  Indian 
aright,  and  that  he  knew  what  he  was  speaking 
about,  I  got  him  to  sketch  the  river  and  lake, 
as  he  described  them  jn  the  sand,  and  to  repeat 
the  same  several  times. 

"I  afterward  met  Mr.  T.  Boswell,  his  brother, 
and  another  miner,  who  had  spent  most  of  the 
summer  on  the  river  prospecting,  and  from 
them  I  gathered  the  following:  The  distance 
to  the  first,  and  only  lake  which  they  saw,  they 
put  at  175  miles,  and  the  lake  itself  they  call  at 
least  150  miles  long,  as  it  took  them  four  days 
to  row  in  a  light  boat  from  end  to  end.  The 
portage  to  the  sea  they  did  not  appear  to  know 
anything  about,  but  describe  a  large  bay  on 
the  east  side  of  the  lake,  into  which  a  river  of 
Qonsiderable  size  entered.  This  river  occupies 
a  wide  valley,  surrounded  by  high  mountains. 
They,  thought  this  river  must  head  near  Liard 
River.  This  account  differs  materially  from  that 
given  by  the  Indian,  and  to  put  them  on  their 
guard,  I  told  them  what  he  had  told  me,  but 


214 


Golden  Alaska. 


they  still  persisted  in  their  story,  which,  I  find, 
differs  a  good  deal  from  the  account  which  they 
gave  Dr.  Dawson,  as  incorporated  in  his  report. 

"Many  years  ago  (sixteen,  I  think)  a  man 
named  Monroe  prospected  up  the  Taku 
and  learned  from  the  Indians  something  of  a 
large  lake  not  far  from  that  river.  He  crossed 
over  and  found  it,  and  spent  some  time  in 
prospecting,  and  then  re-crossed  to  the  sea. 
This  man  had  been  at  Fo  ty  Mile  River,  and  I 
heard  from  the  miners  there  his  account  of  the 
appearance  of  the  lake,  which  amounted  gener- 
ally to  this:  *The  Bos  wells  did  not  know 
anything  about  it.'  It  was  unfortunate  the 
Boswells  did  not  remain  at  Forty  Mile  all  winter, 
as  by  a  comparison  of  recollections  they  might 
have  arrived  at  some  correct  conclusion. 

** Conflicting  as  these  descriptions  are,  one 
thing  is  certain:  This  branch,  if  it  has  not 
the  greater  discharge,  is  the  longer  and  more 
important  of  the  two,  and  dffers  easy  and 
uninterrupted  navigation  for  more  than  double 
the  distance  which  the  Lewes  does,  the  cation 
being  only  ninety  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Teslintoo.  The  Boswells  reported  it  as  con- 
taining much  more  useful  timber  than  the  Lewes, 


Golden  Alaska. 


ii^ 


which,  indeed,  one  would  infer  from  its  lower 
altitude. 

•'Assuming  this  as  the  main  river,  and  adding 
its  length  to  the  Lewes- Yukon  below  the  junction, 
gives  upward  of  2, 200  miles  of  river,  fully  two- 
thirds  of  which  runs  through  a  very  mountainous 
country,  without  an  impediment  to  navigation. 

"Some  indefinite  information  was  obtained  as 
to  the  position  of  this  river  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Marsh  Lake  tending  to  show  that  the  distance 
between  them  was  only  about  thirty  or  forty  miles. 

"Between  the  Teslintoo  and  the  Big  Salmon, 
so-called  by  the  miners,  or  D'Abbadie  by  Schwatka, 
the  distance  is  thirty-three  and  a  half  miles,  in 
which  the  Lewes  precerves  a  generally  uniform 
width  and  current.  For  a  few  miles  below  the 
Teslintoo  it  is  a  little  o\rer  the  ordinary  width, 
but  then  contracts  to  about  200  yards,  which 
it  maintains  with  little  variation.  The  current 
is  generally  from  four  to  five  miles  per  hour. 

"The  Big  Salmon  I  found  to  be  about  100  yards 
wide  near  the  mouth,  the  depth  not  more  than 
four  or  five  feet,  and  the  current,  so  far  as  could 
be  seen,  sluggish.  None  of  the  miners  I  met 
could  give  me  any  information  concerning  this 
stream;  but  Dr.  Dawson  was  more  fortunate, 
and  met  a  man    who   had    spent   most  of  the 


3l6 


OoLDEN  Alaska. 


summer  of  1887  prospecting  on  it.  His  opinion 
was  that  it  might  be  navigable  for  small  stern- 
wheel  steamers  for  many  miles.  The  valley,  as 
seen  from  the  mouth,  is  wide,  and  gives  one  the 
impression  of  being  occupied  by  a  much  more 
important  stream.  Looking  up  it,  in  the  distance 
could  be  seen  many  high  peaks  covered  with 
snow.  As  the  date  was  August,  it  is  likely 
they  are  always  so  covered,  which  would  make 
their  probable  altitude  above  the  river  5,000 
feet  or  more. 

'*Dr.  Dawson,  in  his  report,  incorporates  fully 
the  notes  obtained  from  the  miners.  I  will 
trespass  so  far  on  these  as  to  say  that  they 
called  the  distance  to  a  small  lake  near  the  head 
of  the  river  190  miles  from  the  mouth.  This 
lake  was  estimated  to  be  four  miles  in  length ; 
another  lake  about  twelve  miles  above  this  was 
estimated  ta  be  twenty-four  miles  long,  and  its 
upper  end  distant  only  about  eight  miles  from 
the  Teslintoo.  These  distances,  if  correct,  make 
this  river  much  more  important  than  a  casual 
glance  at  it  would  indicate;  this,  however,  will 
be  more  fully  spoken  of  under  its  proper  head. 

*'Just  below  the  Big  Salmon  the  Lewes  takes  a 
bend  of  nearly  a  right  angle.  Its  course 
from  the  junction  with  the   Tahkeena  to   this 


Golden  Alaska. 


217 


point  is  generally  a  little  east  of  north ;  at  this 
point  it  turns  to  nearly  west  for  some  distance. 
Its  course  between  here  and  its  confluence  with 
the  Pelly  is  northwest,  and,  I  may  add,  it  pre- 
serves this  general  direction  down  to  the  con- 
fluence with  the  Porcupine.  The  river  also 
changes  in  another  respect;  it  is  generally  wider, 
and  often  expands  into  what  might  be  called 
lakes,  in  which  are  islands.  Some  of  the  lakes 
are  of  considerable  length,  and  well  timbered. 

"To  determine  which  channel  is  the  main 
one — that  is,  which  carries  the  greatest  volume 
of  water,  or  is  best  available  for  the  purposes  of 
navigati'A^  among  these  islands — would  require 
more  time  than  I  could  devote  to  it  on  my  way 
down;  consequently,  I  cannot  say  more  than 
that  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  that  a  channel 
giving  six  feet  or  more  of  water  could  easily  be 
found.  Whenever,  in  the  main  channel,  I  had 
reason  to  think  the  water  shallow,  I  tried  it  with 
my  paddle,  but  always  failed  to  find  bottom, 
which  gives  upward  of  six  feet.  Of  course  I 
often  found  less  than  this,  but  not  in  what  I  con- 
sidered the  main  channel. 

"Thirty-six  and  a  quarter  miles  below  the  Big 
Salmon,  the  Little  Salmon — the  Daly  of 
Schwatka — enters    the    Lewes.       This   river  is 


2l8 


Golden  Alaska. 


'*«*«*?i(t-^^'. 


■*K 


about  sixty  yards  wide  at  the  mouth,  and  not 
more  than  two  or  three  feet  in  depth.  The 
water  is  clear  and  of  a  brownish  hue;  there  is 
not  much  current  at  the  mouth,  nor  as  far  as  can 
be  seen  up  the  stream.  The  valley,  which 
from  the  mouth  does  not  appear  extensive,  bears 
northeast  for  some  distance,  when  it  appears  to 
turn  more  to  the  east.  Six  or  seven  miles  up, 
and  apparently  on  the  north  side,  some  high 
cliffs  of  red  rock,  apparently  granite,  can  be 
seen.  It  is  said  that  some  miners  have  pros- 
pected this  stream,  but  I  could  learn  nothing 
definite  about  it. 

"Lewes  River  makes  a  turn  here  to  the  south- 
west, and  runs  in  that  direction  six  miles,  when 
it  again  turns  to  the  northwest  for  seven  miles, 
and  then  makes  a  short,  sharp  turn  to  the  south 
and  west  around  a  low  sandy  point,  which  will, 
at  some  day  in  the  near  future,  be  cut  through 
by  the  current,  which  will  shorten  the  river 
three  or  four  miles. 

"Eight  miles  below  Little  Salmon  River  a 
large  rock  called  the  Eagle's  Nest,  stands  up  in 
a  gravel  slope  on  the  easterly  bank  of  the  river. 
It  rises  about  500  feet  above  the  river,  and  is 
composed  of  a  light  gray  stone.  What  the 
Character  of  this  rock  is  I  could  not  observe,  as 


CrOLDEN    AlaSKA. 


il^ 


a 

in 

er. 

is 
|he 

as 


I  saw  it  only  from  the  river,  which  is  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  distant.  On  the  westerly  side 
of  the  river  there  are  two  or  three  other  isolated 
masses  of  apparently  the  same  kind  of  rock. 
One  of  them  might  appropriately  be  called  a 
mountain;  it  is  southwest  from  the  Eagle'iJ 
Nest  and  distant  from  it  about  three  miles. 

"Thirty- two  miles  below  Eagle's  Nest  Rock, 
Nordenskiold  River  enters  from  the  west.  It 
is  an  unimportant  stream,  being  not  more  than 
1 20  feet  wide  at  the  mouth,  and  only  a  few  inches 
deep.  The  valley,  as  far  as  can  be  seen,  is  not 
extensive,  and,  being  very  crooked,  it  is  hard 
to  tell  what  its  general  direction  is. 

"The  Lewes,  between  the  Little  Salmon  and 
the  Nordenskiold,  maintains  a  width  of  from 
two  to  three  hundred  yards,  with  an  occasional 
expansion  where  there  are  islands.  It  is  ser- 
pentine in  its  course  most  of  the  way,  and  where 
the  Nordenskiold  joins  it  is  very  crooked,  run- 
ning several  times  under  a  hill,  named  by 
Schwatka,  Tantalus  Butte,  and  in  other  places 
leaving  it,  for  a  distance  of  eight  miles.  The 
distance  across  from  point  to  point  is  only  half 
a  mile. 

"Below  this  to  Five  Finger  Rapids,  so  called 
from    the    fact  that  five  large  masses  of  rock 


220 


Golden  Alaska. 


stand  in  mid-channel,  the  river  assumes  its 
ordinary  straightness  and  width,  with  a  current 
from  four  to  five  miles  per  hour.  I  have  already 
described  Five  Finger  Rapids;  I  do  not  think 
they  will  prove  anything  more  than  a  slight 
obstruction  in  the  navigation  of  the  river.  A 
boat  of  ordinary  power  would  probably  have  to 
help  herself  up  with  windlass  and  line  in  high 
water. 

"Below  the  rapids  for  about  two  miles,  the 
current  is  strong — probably  six  miles  per  hour — 
but  the  water  seems  to  be  deep  enough  for  any 
boat  that  is  likely  to  navigate  it. 

"Six  miles  below  this,  as  already  noticed.  Rink 
Rapids  are  situated.  They  are  of  no  great 
importance,  the  westerly  h.-)lf  of  the  stream 
only  being  obstructed.  The  easterly  half  is 
not  in  any  way  affectedj  tlie  current  being 
smooth  and  the  water  deep. 

"Below  Five  Finger  Rapids  about  two  miles  a 
small  stream  enters  from  the  east.  It  is  called 
by  Dr.  Dawson  Tatshun  River.  It  is  not  more 
than  thirty  or  forty  feet  wide  at  the  mouth,  and 
contains  only  a  little  clear,  brownish  water. 

"Between  Five  Finger  Rapids  and  Pelly  River, 
fifty-eight  and  a  half  miles,  no  streams  of  any 
importance  enter  the  Lewes;  in  fact,  with  the 


•;Jf„!rV,, 


Golden  Alaska. 


ut 


exception  of  the  Tatshun,  it  may  be  said  that 
none  at  all  enter. 

**  About  a  mile  below  Rink  Rapids  the  river 
spreads  out -into  a  lake-like  expanse,  with  many 
islands;  this  continues  for  about  three  miles, 
when  it  contracts  to  something  like  the  usual 
width;  but  bars  and  small  islands  are  very 
numerous  all  the  way  to  Pelly  River.  About 
five  miles  above  Pelly  River  there  is  another  lake- 
like expanse  filled  with  islands.  The  river  here 
for  three  or  four  miles  is  nearly  a  mile  wide,  and 
so  numerous  and  close  are  the  islands  that  it  is 
impossible  to  tell  when  floating  among  them 
where  the  shores  of  the  river  are.  The  current, 
too,  is  swift,  leading  one  to  suppose  the  water 
shallow;  but  I  think  even  here  a  channel  deep 
enough  for  such  boats  as  will  navigate  this  part 
of  the  river  can  be  found.  Schwatka  named  this 
group  of  islands  'IngersoU  Islands.' 

**At  the  mouth  of  the  Pelly  the  Lewes  is  about 
half  a  mile  wide,  and  here,  too,  are  many  islands, 
but  not  in  groups  as  at  IngersoU  Islands. 

"About  a  mile  above  the  Pelly,  just  at  the 
ruins  of  Fort  Selkirk,  the  Yukon  was  found  to  be 
565  yards  wide;  about  two-thirds  being  ten  feet 
deep,  with  a  current  of  about  four  and  three- 
quarters  miles  per  hour;   the   remaining   third 

15 


22i 


Golden  Alaska. 


was  more  than  half  taken  up  by  a  bar,  and  the 
current  between  it  and  the  south  shore  was  very 
slack. 

"Pelly  River  at  its  mouth  is  about  200 
yards  wide,  and  continues  this  width  as  far  up  as 
could  be  seen.  Dr.  Dawson  made  a  survey  and 
examination  of  this  river,  which  will  be  found  in 
his  report,  already  cited,  'Yukon  District  and 
Northern  British  Columbia.* 

"Just  here  for  a  short  distance  the  course  of  the 
Yukon  is  nearly  west,  and  on  the  south  side, 
about  a  mile  below  the  mouth  of  the  Lewes, 
stands  all  that  remains  of  the  only  trading  post 
ever  built  by  white  men  in  the  district. 

"Under  present  conditions,  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  cannot  very  well  compete  with  the 
Alaska  Commercial  Company,  whose  agents  do 
the  only  trade  in  the  district*,  and  they  appear 
to  have  abandoned — for  the  present  at  least — all 
attempt  to  do  any  trade  nearer  to  it  than  Ram- 
part House,  to  which  point,  notwithstanding  the 
distance  and  difficulties  in  the  way,  many  of  the 
Indians  on  the  Yukon  make  a  trip  every  two  or 
three  years  to  procure  goods  in  exchange    for 

*Since  the  date  of  this  report  the  North  American  Trans- 
port", tion  and  Trading  Company,  better  known  in  the  Yukon 
Valley  as  '*  Captain  Healy  s  Company,"  has  established  a 
number  of  posts  on  the  river. 


Golden  Alaska. 


223 


their  furs.  The  clothing  and  blankets  brought 
in  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  they  claim,  are 
much  better  than  those  traded  on  their  own  river 
by  the  Americans.  Those  of  them  that  I  saw 
who  had  any  English  blankets  exhibited  them 
with  pride,  and  exclaimed  'good.'  They  point 
to  an  American  blanket  in  contempt,  with  the 
remark,  'no  good,'  and  speak  of  their  clothing 
in  the  same  way. 

"On  many  maps  of  Alaska  a  place  named 
'Reed's  House'  is  shown  on  or  near  the  upper 
waters  of  Stewart  River.  I  made  inquiries  of 
all  whom  I  thought  likely  to  know  anything 
concerning  this  post,  but  failed  to  elicit  any 
information  showing  that  there  ever  had  been 
such  a  place.  I  mqulred  of  Mr.  Reid,  who  was 
in  the  company's  service  with  Mr.  Campbell  at 
Fort  Selkirk,  and  after  whom  I  thought,  possibly, 
the  place  had  been  called,  but  he  told  me  he 
knew  of  no  such  post,  but  that  there  was  a 
small  lake  at  some  distance  in  a  northerly  direc- 
tion from  Fort  Selkirk  where  fish  were  procured. 
A  sort  of  shelter  had  been  made  at  that  point  for 
the  fishermen,  and  a  few  furs  might  have  been 
obtained  there,  but  it  was  never  regarded  as  a 
trading  post. 

"Below  Fort  Selkirk  the  Yukon  River  is  from 


224 


Golden  Alaska. 


500  to  600  yards  broad,  and  maintains  this  width 

down  to  White  River,   a  distance  of  ninety-six 

miles.     Islands  are  numerous,  so  much  so  that 

there   are    very  few  parts  of   the  river  where 

there  are  not  one  or  more  in  sight.     Many  of  them 

are  of  considerable  size,  and  nearly  all  are  well 

timbered.      Bars  are  also  numerous,  but  almost 

all  are  composed  of  gravel,   so  that  navigators 

will  not  have  to  complain  of  shifting  sand  bars. 

The  current,  as  a  general  thing,  is  not  so  rapid  as 

in  the  upper  part  of  the  river,  averaging  about 

four  miles  per  hoar.      The  depth  in  the  main 

channel  was  always  found  to  be  more  than  six 
feet. 

"From  Pelly  River  to  within  twelve  miles  of 
White  River  the  general  course  of  the  river  is  a 
little  north  of  west ;  it  then  turns  to  the  north, 
and  the  general  course  as  far  as  the  site  of  Fort 
Reliance  is  due  north. 

"White  River  enters  the  main  river  from  the 
west.  At  the  mouth  it  is  about  200  yards  wide, 
but  a  great  part  of  it  is  filled  with  ever-shifting 
sJind  bars,  the  main  volume  of  water  being 
confined  to  a  channel  not  more  than  100  yards  in 
width.  The  current  is  very  strong,  certainly  not 
less  than  eight  miles  t>er  hour.      The  color  of 


i 
1 


Golden  Alaska. 


22$ 


the  water  bears  witness  to  this,  as  it  is  much  the 
muddiest  that  I  have  ever  seen.  * 

"I  had  intended  to  make  a  survey  of  part  of 
this  river  as  far  as  the  International  Boundary, 
and  attempted  to  do  so ;  but,  after  trying  for  over 
half  a  day,  I  found  it  would  be  a  task  of  much 
labor  and  time,  altogether  out  of  proportion  to 
the  importance  of  the  end  sought,  and  therefore 
abandoned  it.  The  valley,  as  far  as  can  be  seen 
from  the  mouth,  runs  about  due  west  for  a  dis- 
tance of  eight  miles ;  it  then  appears  to  bear  to  the 
southwest;  it  is  about  two  miles  wide  where  it 
joins  the  Pelly  valley,  and  apparently  keeps  the 
same  width  as  far  as  it  can  be  seen. 

"Mr.    Harper,   of  the    firm    of    Harper,    Mc- 

Question  &  Co.,  went  up  this  river  with  sleds  in 

the  fall  of  1872  a  distance  of  fifty  or  sixty  miles. 

lie  descrioes  it  as  possessing  the  same  general 

features  all  the  way  up,  with  much  clay  soil  along 

its  banks.      Its  general  course,    as  sketched  by 

him  on  a  map  of  mine,  is  for  a  distance  of  about 

thirty  miles  a  little  northwest,  thence  southwest 

•The  White  River  very  probably  flows  over  volcanic 
d>=*.posits,  as  its  sediments  would  indicate;  no  doubt  this 
would  account  for  the  discoloration  of  its  waters.  The  vol- 
canic ash  appears  to  cover  a  great  extent  of  the  Upper 
Yukon  basin,  drained  by  the  Lewes  and  Pelly  rivers.  Very 
full  treatment  of  the  subject  is  given  by  Dr.  Dawson,  in  his 
report,  entitled  "Yukon  District  and  Northern  Portion  of 
British  Columbia." 


226 


Golden  Alaska. 


thirty  or  thirty-five  miles,  when  it  deflects  to  the 
northwest,  running  along  the  base  of  a  high 
mountain  ridge.  If  the  courses  given  are  correct, 
it  must  rise  somtj-  -"  e  near  the  head  of  Forty 
Mile  River;  and  if  its  length  is  not  at  all  in 
keeping  with  the  volume  of  its  discharge,  when 
compared  with  the  known  length  and  discharge 
of  other  rivers  in  the  territory.  Mr.  Harper 
mentioned  an  extensive  flat  south  of  the  moun- 
tain range  spoken  of,  across  which  many  high 
mountain  peaks  could  be  seen.  One  of  these, 
he  thought,  must  be  Mount  St.  Elias,  as  it  over- 
topped all  the  others ;  but,  as  Mount  St.  Elias  is 
about  1 80  miles  distant,  his  conclusion  is  not 
tenable.  From  his  description  of  this  mountain, 
it  must  be  more  than  twice  the  height  of  the 
highest  peaks  seen  anywhere  on  the  lower  river, 
and  consequently  must  be  10,000  or  12,000  feet 
above  the  sea.  He  stated  that  the  current  in 
the  river  was  very  swift  as  far  as  he  ascended  and 
the  water  mi  Idy.  The  water  from  this  river, 
though  probably  not  a  fourth  of  the  volume  of 
the  Yukon,  discolors  the  water  of  the  latter  com- 
pletely; and  a  couple  of  miles  below  the  junction 
the  whole  river  appears  almost  as  dirty  as  White 
River. 
"  Between  White  and  Stewart  rivers,  ten  miles. 


Golden  Alaska. 


227 


the  river  spreads  out  to  a  mile  and  upward  in 
width,  and  is  a  maze  of  islands  and  bars.  The 
survey  was  carried  down  the  easterly  shore, 
and  many  of  the  channels  passed  through  barely 
afforded  water  enough  to  float  the  canoes.  The 
main  channel  is  along  the  westerly  shore,  down 
which  the  large  boat  went,  and  the  crew  reported 
plenty  of  water. 

''Stewart  River  enters  from  the  east  in  the 
middle  of  a  wide  valley,  with  low  hills  on  both 
sides,  rising  on  the  north  side  in  steps  or  terraces 
to  distant  hills  of  considerable  height.  The 
river  half  a  mile  or  so  above  the  mouth  is  200 
yards  in  width.  The  current  is  slack  and  the 
water  shallow  and  clear,  but  dark  colored. 

"While  at  the  mouth  I  was  fortunate  enough 
to  meet  a  miner  who  had  spent  the  whole  of  the 
summer  of  1887  on  the  river  and  its  branches 
prospecting  and  exploring.  He  gave  me  a  good 
deal  of  information,  of  which  I  give  a  summary. 
He  is  a  native  of  New  Brunswick,  Alexander 
McDonald  by  name,  and  has  spent  some  years 
mining  in  other  places,  but  was  very  reticent 
about  what  he  had  made  or  found.  Sixty  or 
seventy  miles  up  the  Stewart  a  large  creek 
enters  from  the  south,  which  he  called  Rose  Bud 
Creek  or  River,  and  thirty  or  forty  miles  further 


Ill 


228 


Golden  Alaska. 


up  a  considerable  stream  flows  from  the  north- 
east, which  appears  to  be  Beaver  River,  as 
marked  on  the  maps  of  that  part  of  the  country. 
From  the  head  of  this  stream  he  floated  down  on 
a  raft,  taking  five  days  to  do  so.  He  estimated 
his  progress  at  forty  or  fifty  miles  each  day,  which 
gives  a  length  of  from  200  to  250  miles.  This  is 
probably  an  over-estimate,  unless  the  stream  is 
very  crooked,  which,  he  stated,  was  not  the 
case.  As  much  of  his  time  would  be  taken  up 
in  prospecting,  I  should  call  thirty  miles  or 
less  a  closer  estimate  of  his  progress.  This 
river  is  from  fifty  to  eighty  yards  wide,  and  was 
never  more  than  four  or  five  feet  deep,  often 
being  not  more  than  two  or  three ;  the  current, 
he  said,  was  not  at  all  swift.  Above  the  mouth 
of  this  stream  the  main  river  is  from  100  to  130 
yards  wide,  with  an  even  current  and  clear 
water.  Sixty  or  seventy  miles  above  the  last- 
mentioned  branch  another  large  branch  joins, 
which  is  possibly  the  main  river.  At  the  head  of 
it  he  found  a  lake  nearly  thirty  miles  long,  and 
averaging  a  mile  and  a  half  in  width,  which  he 
called  Mayhew  Lake,  after  one  of  the  partners  in 
the  firm  of  Harper,  McQuestion  &  Co. 

"Thirty  miles  or  so  above  the  forks  on  the 
other  branch  there   are  falls  which  McDonald 


Golden  Alaska. 


229 


estimated  to  be  from  100  to  200  feet  in  height. 
I  met  several  parties  who  had  seen  these  falls, 
and  they  corroborate  this  estimate  of  their 
height.  McDonald  went  on  past  the  falls  to  the 
head  of  this  branch,  and  found  terraced  gravel 
hills  to  the  west  and  north ;  he  crossed  them  to 
the  north  and  found  a  river  flowing  northward. 
On  this  he  embarked  on  a  raft  and  floated  down 
it  for  a  day  or  two,  thinking  it  would  turn  to 
the  west  and  join  the  Stewart;  but  finding  it 
still  continued  north,  and  acquiring  too  much 
volume  to  be  any  of  the  branches  he  had  seen 
while  passing  up  the  Stewart,  he  returned  to  the 
point  of  his  departure,  and  after  prospecting 
among  the  hills  around  the  head  of  the  river, 
he  started  westward,  crossing  a  high  range  of 
i^ountains  composed  principally  of  shales  with 
niany  thin  seams  of  what  he  called  quartz, 
ranging  from  one  to  six  inches  in  thickness. 

"On  the  west  side  of  this  range  he  found  a 
river  flowing  out  of  what  he  called  Mayhew  Lake, 
and  crossing  this  got  to  the  head  of  Beaver 
River,  which  he  descended  as  before  mentioned. 

"It  is  probable  the  river  flowing  northward, 
on  which  he  made  a  journey  and  returned,  was 
a  branch  of  Peel  River.  He  described  the 
timber  on  the  gravel  terraces  of  the  watershed  as 


230 


Golden  Alaska. 


small  and  open.  He  was  alone  in  this  unknown 
wilderness  all  summer,  not  seeing  even  any  of  the 
natives.  There  are  few  men  so  constituted  as  to 
be  capable  of  isolating  themselves  in  such  a  man- 
ner. Judging  from  all  I  could  learn,  it  is  probable 
a  light-draught  steamboat  could  navigate  nearly 
all  of  Stewart  River  and  its  tributaries. 

"From  Stewart  River  to  the  site  of  Fort 
Reliance,*  seventy-three  and  a  quarter  miles, 
the  Yukon  is  broad  and  full  of  islands.  The 
average  width  is  between  a  half  and  three- 
quarters  of  a  mile,  but  there  are  many  expansions 
where  it  is  over  a  mile  in  breadth ;  however,  in 
these  places  it  cannot  be  said  that  the  waterway 
is  wider  than  at  other  parts  of  the  river,  the 
islands  being  so  large  and  numerous.  In  this 
reach  no  streams  of  any  importance  enter. 

"About  thirteen  miles  below  Stewart  River 
a  large  valley  joins  that  of  the  river,  but  the 
stream  occupying  it  is  only  a  large  creek.  This 
agrees  in  position  with  what  has  been  called 
Sixty  Mile  Creek,  which  was  supposed  to  be 
about  that  distance  above  Fort  Reliance,  but  it 
does  not  agree  with  descriptions  which  I  received 
of  it;  moreover,  as  Sixty  Mile  Creek  is  known 

♦This  was  at  one  time  a  trading  post  occupied  by  Messrs. 
Harper  &  McQuestion, 


Golden  Alaska. 


231 


to  be  a  stream  of  considerable  length,  this  creek 
would  not  answer  its  description. 

"Twenty-two  and  a  half  miles  from  Stewart 
River  another  and  larger  creek  enters  from  the 
same  side ;  it  agrees  with  the  descriptions  of  Sixty 
Mile  Creek,  and  I  have  so  marked  it  on  my  map. 
This  stream  is  of  no  importance,  except  for  what 
mineral  wealth  may  be  found  on  it.  * 

•Sixty  Mile  Creek  is  about  one  hundred  miles  long,  very 
crooked,  with  a  swift  current  and  miany  rapids,  and  is, 
therefore,  not  easy  to  ascend. 

Miller,  Glacier,  Gold,  Little  Gold,  and  Bedrock  creeks 
are  all  tributaries  of  Sixty  Mile.  Some  of  the  richest  dis- 
coveries in  gold  so  far  made  in  the  interior  since  1894  have 
been  upon  these  creeks ;  especially  has  this  been  the  case 
upon  the  two  first  mentioned.  There  is  a  claim  upon  Miller 
Creek,  owned  by  Joseph  Boudreau,  from  which  over  $100,000 
worth  of  gold  is  said  to  have  been  taken  out. 

Freight  for  the  mines  is  taken  up  Forty  Mile  Creek  in 
summer  for  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  then  portaged  across 
to  the  heads  of  Miller  and  Glacier  creeks.  In  the  winter  it 
is  hauled  in  by  dogs. 

The  trip  from  Cudahy  to  the  post  at  the  mouth  of  Sixty 
Mile  River  is  made  by  ascending  Forty  Mile  River  a  small 
distance,  making  a  short  portage  to  Sixty  Mile  River  and 
running  down  with  its  swift  current.  Coming  back  on  the 
Yukon,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  return  trip  is  made  down 
stream. 

Indian  Creek  enters  the  Yukon  from  the  east  about  thirty 
miles  below  Sixty  Mile.  It  is  reported  to  be  rich  in  gold, 
but,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  supplies,  its  development  has 
been  retanied. 

At  the  mouth  of  Sixty  Mile  Creek  a  townsite  of  that 
name  is  located.  It  is  the  headquarters  for  upward  of  100 
miners,  and  where  they  more  or  less  assemble  in  the  \vinter 
months. 

Messrs.  Harper  &  Co.  have  a  trading  post  and  a  sawmill 
on  an  island  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  both  of  which  are 
in  charge  of  Mr.  J.  Leduc,  one  of  the  partners  of  the  firm, 
and  who  was  at  one  time  in  the  employ  of  the  Alaska  Com- 
mercial Company. 


23* 


Golden  Alaska. 


"Six  and  a  half  miles  above  Fort  Reliance  the 
Thron-Diuck*  River  of  the  Indians  (Deer  River 
of  Schwatka)  enters  from  the  east.  It  is  a  small 
river,  about  forty  yards  wide  at  the  mouth  and 
shallow;  the  water  is  clear  and  transparent, 
and  of  beautiful  blue  color.  The  Indians  catch 
great  numbers  of  salmon  here.  They  had  been 
fishing  shortly  before  my  arrival,  and  the  river, 
for  some  distance  up,  was  full  of  salmon  traps. 

'  'A  miner  had  prospected  up  this  river  for  an 
estimated  distance  of  forty  miles  in  the  season  of 
1887.  I  did  not  see  him,  but  got  some  of  his 
information  at  second-hand.  The  water  being  so 
beautifully  clear,  I  thought  it  must  come 
through  a  large  lake  not  far  up ;  but  as  far  as  he 
had  gone  no  lakes  were  seen.  He  said  the 
current  was  comparatively  slack,  with  an  occa- 
sional 'ripple'  or  small  rapid.  Where  he  turned 
back  the  river  is  surrounded  by  high  mountains, 
which  were  then  covered  with  snow,  which 
accounts  for  the  purity  and  clearness  of  the  water. 

••It  appears  that  the  Indians  go  up  this  stream 
a    long   distance    to    hunt,   but  I  could    learn 


♦Dawson  City  is  situated. at  the  mouth  of  the  Thron- 
Diuck,  and  although  it  was  located  only  a  few  months  ago, 
it  is  the  scene  of  great  activity.  Very  rich  deposits  of  gold 
have  been  lately  found  on  Bonanza  Creek  and  other  affluents 
of  the  Thron-Diuck. 


Golden  Alaska. 


a33 


nothing  definite  as  to  their  statements  con- 
cerning it. 

*•  Twelve  and  a  half  miles  below  Fort  Reliance 
the  Chandindu  River,  as  named  by  Schwatka, 
enters  from  the  east.  It  is  thirty  to  forty  yards 
wide  at  the  mouth,  very  shallow,  and  for  half  a 
mile  up  is  one  continuous  rapid.  Its  valley  is 
wide  and  can  be  seen  for  a  long  distance  look- 
ing northeastward  from  the  mouth. 

''Between  Fort  Reliance  and  Forty  Mile  River 
(called  Cone  Hill  River  by  Schwatka)  the  Yukon 
assumes  its  normal  appearance,  having  fewer 
islands  and  being  narrower,  averaging  four  to 
six  hundred  yards  wide,  and  the  current  being 
more  regular.  This  stretch  is  forty-six  miles 
long,  but  was  estimated  by  the  traders  at  forty, 
from  which  the  Forty  Mile  River  took  its  name. 

"Forty  Mile  River*  joins  the  main  river  from 
the  west.  Its  general  course  as  far  up  as  the 
International  Boundary,  a  distance  of  twenty- 
three  miles,  is  southwest ;  after  this  it  is  reported 

•Forty  Mile  townsite  is  situated  on  the  south  side  of  the 
Forty  Mile  River  at  its  junction  with  the  Yukon.  The 
Alaska  Commercial  Company  has  a  station  here  which  was 
for  some  years  in  charge  of  L.  N.  McQuestion ;  there  are 
also  several  blacksmith  shops,  restaurants,  billiard  halls, 
bakeries,  an  opera  house  and  so  on.  Rather  more  than 
half  a  mile  below  Forty  Mile  townsite  the  town  of  Cudahy 
was  founded  on. the  north  side  of  Forty  Mile  River  in 
tne  summer  of  1892.  It  is  named  after  a  well  known  mem- 
ber of  the  North  American  Transportation  and  Trading 


234 


Golden  Alaska. 


by  the  miners  to  run  nearer  south.  Many  of 
them  claim  to  have  ascended  this  stream  for  more 
than  one  hundred  miles,  and  speak  of  it  there  as 
quite  a  large  river.  They  say  that  at  that  distance 
it  has  reached  the  level  of  the  plateau,  and  the 
country  adjoining  it  they  describe  as  flat  and 
swampy,  rising  very  little  above  the  river.  It 
is  only  a  short  distance  across  to  the  Tanana 
River — a  large  tributary  of  the  Yukon — which 
is  here  described  as  an  important  stream. 
However,  only  about  twenty-three  miles  of  Forty 
Mile  River  are  in  Canada,  and  the  upper  part  of 
it  and  its  relation  to  other  rivers  in  the  district 
have  no  direct  interest  for  us. 

"Forty  Mile  River  is  loo  to  150  yards  wide  at 
the  mouth,  and  the  current  is  generally  strong, 
with  many  small  rapids.  Eight  miles  up  is  the 
so-called  caiion;  it  is  hardly  entitled  to  that 
distinctive  name,  being  simply  a  crooked  con- 
traction of  l-he  river,  with  steep,  rocky  banks, 
and  on  the  north  side  there  is  plenty  of  room  to 

Company.  In  population  and  extent  of  business  the  town 
bears  comparison  with  its  neighbor  across  the  river. 
The  opposition  in  trade  has  been  the  means  of  very  mate- 
rially reducing  the  cost  of  supplies  and  living.  The  North 
American  Transportation  "and  Trading  Company  has  erec- 
ted a  sawmill  and  some  large  warehouses.  Fort  Constantine 
was  established  here  immediately  upon  the  arrival  of  the 
Mounted  Police  detacl'ment  in  the  latter  part  of  July,  1893. 
It  is  described  further  on  in  an  extract  from  Inspector  Con- 
stantine's  supplementary  report  for  the  year  1895. 


Golden  Alaska. 


435 


walk  along  the  beach.  At  the  lower  end  of  the 
caiion  there  is  a  short  turn  and  swift  water  in 
which  are  some  large  rocks ;  these  cannot  gener- 
ally be  seen,  and  there  is  much  danger  of  striking 
them  running  down  in  a  boat.  At  this  point 
several  miners  have  been  drowmed  by  their 
boats  being  upset  in  collision  with  these  rocks. 
It  is  no  great  distance  to  either  shore,  and  one 
would  think  an  orditiary  swimmer  would  have 
no  difficulty  in  reaching  land ;  but  the  coldness 
of  the  water  soon  benumbs  a  man  completely 
and  renders  him  powerless.  In  the  summer  of 
1887  an  Indian  from  Tanana,  with  his  family, 
was  coming  down  to  trade  at  the  post  at  the 
mouth  of  Forty  Mile  River;  his  canoe  struck 
on  these  rocks  and  upset,  and  he  was  thrown 
clear  of  the  canoe,  but  the  woman  and  children 
clung  to  it.  In  the  rough  water  he  lost  sight 
of  them,  and  concluded  that  they  were  lost.  It 
is  said  he  deliberately  drew  his  knife  and  cut  his 
throat,  thus  perishing,  while  his  family  were 
hauled  ashore  by  some  miners.  The  chief  of  the 
band  to  which  this  Indian  belonged  came  to  the 
post  and  demanded  pay  for  his  loss,  which,  he 
contended,  was  occasioned  by  the  traders  having 
moved  from  Belle  Isle  to  Forty  Mile,  thus  causing 
them  to  descend  this  dangerous  rapid,  and  there 


236 


Golden  Alaska. 


8-- 

I 


is  little  doubt  that  had  there  not  been  so  many 
white  men  in  the  vicinity  he  would  have  tried 
to  enforce  his  demand. 

"The  length  of  the  so-called  caiion  is  about  a 
mile..  Above  it  the  river  up  to  the  boundary  is 
generally  smooth,  with  swift  current  and  an 
occasional  ripple.  The  amount  of  water  dis- 
charged by  this  stream  is  considerable;  but  there 
is  no  prospect  of  navigation,  it  being  so  swift 
and  broken  by  small  rapids. 

"From  Forty  Mile  River  to  the  boundary  the 
Yukon  preserves  the  same  general  character  as 
between  Fort  Reliance  and  Forty  Mile,  the  great- 
est width  being  about  half  a  mile  and  the  least 
about  a  quarter. 

"Fifteen  miles  below  Forty  Mile  River  a  large 
mass  of  rock  stands  on  the  east  bank.  This  was 
named  by  Schwatka  'Roquette  Rock,*  but  is 
known  to  the  traders  as  Old  Woman  Rock;  a 
similar  mass  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  being 
known  as  Old  Man  Rock. 

"Between  Forty  Mile  River  and  the  boundary 
line  no  stream  of  any  size  joins  the  Yukon;  in 
fact,  there  is  only  one  stream,  which  some  of  the 
miners  have  named  Sheep  Creek,  but  as  there  is 
another  stream  further  down  the  river  called  by 
the  same  name,  I  have  named  it  Coal  Creek.     It 


Golden  Alaska. 


237 


is  five  miles  below  Forty  Mile,  and  comes  in 
from  the  east,  and  is  a  large  creek,  but  not  at  all 
navigable.  On  it  some  extensive  coal  seams 
were  seen,  which  will  be  more  fully  referred  to 
further  on. 

**At  the  boundary  the  river  is  somewhat  con- 
tracted, and  measures  only  1,280  feet  across  in 
the  winter;  but  in  summer,  at  ordinary  water 
level,  it  would  be  about  100  feet  wider.  Immedi- 
ately below  the  boundary  it  expands  to  its  usual 
width,  which  is  about  2,000  feet.  The  area  of 
the  cross-section  measured  is  22,268  feet,  the 
sectional  area  of  the  Teslintoo,  as  determined  by 
Dr.  Dawson  and  already  referred  to,  is  3,809  feet; 
that  of  the  Lewes  at  the  Teslintoo,  from  the  same 
authority,  is  3,015  feet.  Had  the  above  cross-sec- 
tion been  reduced  to  the  level  at  which  the  water 
ordinarily  stands  during  the  summ'-r  months, 
instead  of  to  the  height  at  which  it  stood  in  the 
middle  of  September,  when  it  was  almost  at  its 
lowest,  the  sectional  area  would  have  been  at 
least  50  per  cent  more,  and  at  the  spring  flood 
level  about  double  the  above  area. 

"It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  determine  the  actual 

discharge  at  the  place  of  the  cross-section,  owing 

to  the  irregularity  in  the  depth  and  current,  the 
16 


■^^WP" 


238 


Golden  Alaska. 


latter  being  in  the  deep  channel  at  the  east  side, 
when  I  tried  it  in  September,  approximately  4.8 
miles  per  hour,  while  on  the  bar  in  midstream  it 
was  not  more  than  2.5  miles  per  hour,  and 
between  the  bar  and  the  westerly  shore  there 
was  very  little  current. 

*'The  river  above  this  for  some  miles  was  no 
better  for  the  purpose  of  cross-section  measure- 
ment. At  the  boundary  it  is  narrow  and  clear  of 
bars  and  islands  for  some  miles,  but  here  I  did 
not  have  an  opportunity  to  determine  the  rate 
of  the  current  before  the  river  froze  up,  and  after 
it  froze  the  drift  ice  was  jammed  and  piled  so 
high  that  it  would  have  been  an  almost  endless 
task  to  cut  holes  through  it. 

"Taking  the  sectional  area  of  the  deep  part 
alone  and  the  rate  of  the  current  above  stated, 
and  calculating  by  the  approximate  formulae  used 
by  Dr.  Dawson,  as  given  in  Trautwine's  Engin- 
eer's Pocket- Book,  p.  562,  the  discharge  in  cubic 
feet  per  second  is  90,864,  or  about  three  times 
that  of  the  Lewes  and  Teslintoo  togethei,  as 
determined  by  Dr.  Dawson.  The  discharge  of 
the  rest  of  the  channel  would  approximate  only 
14,000  feet — in  all,  about  105,000  feet.  At 
summer  level,  with  an  increased  sectional  area 
and  current,  it  would  approximate  60  per  cent 


s 


Golden  Alaska, 


239 


more,  or  close  to  170,000  feet  per  second.  At 
high  water  level  it  would  at  least  be  eight  to  ten 
feet  deeper,  and  we  can  only  conjecture  what 
the  current  would  be,  but  I  think  it  safe  to  assume 
at  least  80  per  cent  more  discharge,  which  would 
give  us  roughly  300,000  feet  per  second.  For  the 
sake  of  comparison,  I  give  the  discharge  of  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  Ottawa  rivers,  being  the 
mean  of  the  years  1867  to  1882:  St.  Lawrence, 
mean,  900,000  feet;  Ottawa,  at  Grenville,  mean, 
85,000  feet.  The  point  where  cross-section  was 
measured  is  less  than  seven  hundred  miles  from 
the  head  of  Lewes  River,  and  '"  m  the  head  of 
the  Teslintoo  probably  eight  hundied 

•'The  current,  from  the  boundary  down  to  the 
confluence  with  the  Porcupine  River,  is  said  to 
be  strong  and  much  the  same  as  that  above; 
from  the  Porcupine  down  for  a  distance  of  five  or 
six  hundred  miles  it  is  called  medium  and  the 
remainder  easy. 

"On  the  2 2d  September  a  small  steamboat 
named  the  'New  Racket'  passed  my  camp  on  her 
way  up  to  Forty  Mile  River  with  supplies ;  she 
was  about  forty  feet  long  and  nine  or  ten  feet 
beam,  with  about  two  feet  draught.  The  boat 
was  wholly  taken  up  with  engine  and  boiler,  the 
berths  for  the  crew  being  over  the  engine-room. 


240 


Golden  Alaska. 


The  propelling  power  was  a  stem  wheel,  driven 
by  two  engines  of  large  size  for  such  a  small 
boat.  It  was  claimed  for  her  by  her  captain, 
A.  Mayhew,  of  the  firm  of  Harper,  McQuestion 
&  Co. ,  that  she  could  make  ten  miles  an  hour  in 
dead  water.  She  was  then  twenty-two  days  out 
from  St.  Michael  Island,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
fiver.  Mr.  Mayhew  claimed  that  this  was  longer 
than  usual,  on  account  of  the  boiler  tubes  being 
out  of  order  and  leaking  badly,  so  that  it  was 
impossible  to  keep  more  than  fifty  pounds  pres- 
sure, while  that  generally  used  was  about  double. 
That  this  was  true  was  apparent  from  the  fact 
that  it  took  her  about  five  hours  to  make  four 
miles,  and  at  one  place  below  my  camp  she  hung 
for  over  an  hour  without  making  any  progress  at 
all,  nor  could  she  pass  that  point  until  she  stopped 
and  bottled  up  steam. 

"After  reaching  Forty  Mile  River  this  boat 
started  up  the  stream  to  Stewart  River,  with 
supplies  for  the  few  miners  who  intended  to 
winter  there  and  materials  for  the  Indian  fur  trade. 
Some  miners  who  intended  to  spend  the  summer 
of  1888  mining  ^n  Stewart  River  took  pasbage  up 
on  her;  but  after  trying  for  nearly  two  days  it 
was  found  impossible,  loaded  as  she  was,  to  make 
any  headway,  so  she  returned,   discharged  her 


I 


Golden  Alaska. 


»4i 


passengers,  and  finally  reached  Stewart  River 
light.  Here  her  owners  intended  to  lay  her  up 
and  give  her  a  thorough  overhauling  before  the 
commencement  of  next  season '  s  navigation.  Three 
other  steamboats  which  navigate  the  river,  the 
'Yukon,'  the  'St.  Michael,'  and  the  'Explorer,' 
belong  to  the  Alaska  Commercial  Company. 
These  boats  are  small,  and  carry  little  or  no 
freight  themselves,  but  tow  loaded  barges.  Their 
space  is  entirely  devoted  to  engine  and  boiler,  and 
they  are  driven  by  a  stern  wheel.  Messrs.  Har- 
per, McQuestion  &  Co.  expected  the  Alaska 
Commercial  Company  to  put  a  larger  boat  on  the 
river  in  the  season  of  1888,  one  that  would  carry 
120  to  200  tons  of  freight  and  make  five  to  seven 
miles  per  hour  up  stream  on  the  upper  river. 
The  other  boats  do  not  make  more  than  three  or 
four  miles  per  hour,  and  often  not  that.  None  of 
these  boats  had  passed  Stewart  River  while  I 
was  there,  nor  is  it  probable  they  have  since 
done  so. 

"From  Stewart  River  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Yukon  is  about  1,650  miles,  and  the  only  difficult 
place  in  all  this  distance  is  the  part  near  the 
confluence  with  the  Porcupine,  which  has 
evidently  been  a  lake  in  past  ages,  but  is  now 
filled  with  islands;    it  is  said   that  the  current 


242 


Golden  Alaska. 


here  is  swift,  and  the  channels  generally  narrow, 
rendering  navigation  difficult. " 

LATER  REPORTS  FROM  MR.  OGILVIE. 

"CuDAHY,  4th  September,  1895. 
•*I  arrived  here  the  evening  of  the  30th  ultimo, 
after  a  tedious  journey  through  much  bad 
weather,  which  delayed  me  full>  ten  days.  I 
leave  for  the  boundary  in  a  day,  and  will  com- 
mence marking  it  at  once.  With  reference  to  the 
applications  for  land  at  Selkirk,  I  may  say  I  have 
not  seen  the  applicants  as  yet,  as  they  are  away. 
It  appears  to  me,  however,  from  what  I  have 
learned,  that  the  best  policy  is  to  sell  the 
applicants  the  land  they  ask  for  They  have  all 
occupied  and  cultivated  part  of  it  for  several 
years,  raising  in  their  gardens  such  roots  and 
vegetables  as  the  climate  will  permit,  on  which 
I  will  report  more  fully  later  on.  There  is  no 
great  prospect  of  any  town  of  importance  ever 
being  either  at  Cudahy  or  -Forty  Mile.  There 
are  many  mining  camps  now  in  the  country,  and, 
besides,  the  miners  find  it  pays  well  to  what  they 
call  'drift,'  that  is,  quarry  out  the  frozen  gravel 
during 'the  winter,  pile  it  up,  and  wash  it  during 
the  spring  and  summer.  This  keeps  scores  of 
men  on  their  claims  all  winter,  so  that  there  is 
not  that  demand  for  town  residences  during  the 


Golden  Alaska. 


243 


winter  that  existed  formerly,  and  consequent!}' 
town  lots  are  at  somewhat  of  a  discount.  Coarse 
gold  and  excellent  prospects  have  been  found  on 
the  Hootalinqua  (Teslin),  and  there  will  likely  be 
a  rush  there  next  spring.  I  will  report  more  fully 
on  that  in  the  future. " 


«n 


"CuDAHY,  8th  January,  1896. 
'I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  the  following 
interim  report  of  my  operations  since  1  came  into 
this  territory: 

*'I  have  already  sent  out  a  short  report  from 
this  place,  being  fortunate  enough  to  catch  a  boat 
here  when  I  came  down.  In  that  report  I  made 
some  remarks  on  the  townsites  in  our  territory ; 
since  then  I  have  learned  nothing  of  importance 
in  that  connection,  the  most  noteworthy  fact  being 
that  gold-bearing  quartz  has  been  found  in  Cone 
Hill,  which  stands  midway  in  the  valley  of  the 
Forty  Mile  River,  a  couple  of  miles  above  the 
junction  with  the  Yukon.  The  quantity  in  sight 
rivals  that  of  the  Treadwell  mine  on  the  coast, 
and  the  quality  is  better,  so  much  so  that  it  is 
thought  it  will  pay  well  to  work  it  even  under  the 
conditions  existing  here.  Application  has  been 
made  to  purchase  it,  and  an  expert  is  now  engaged 
in  putting  in  a  tunnel  to  test  the  extent  Indications 


I  lilThiiwri 


i  iTf  mnrry  |i  ii.iwp 


^^^WP 


244 


Golden  Alaska. 


in  sight  point  to  the  conclusion  that  the  whole  hill  is 
composed  of  this  metalliferous  rock.  If  the  test 
corroborates  this,  a  stamp  mill  will  be  erected 
next  season,  which  will  have  an  important  bearing 
on  the  future  of  this  country.  If  this  venture 
succeeds  (as  it  doubtless  will,  for  it  is  in  the  hands 
of  parties  who  are  able  to  push  it),  it  will  give 
permanent  emplo3rment  to  a  good  many  men, 
who,  with  their  families,  will  form  quite  a 
community. 

'*  Apart  from  this  I  cannot  see  very  much  of  a 
chance  for  speculation  in  buying  or  selling  town 
sites,  and  my  opinion  is  confirmed  by  the  present 
condition  of  Forty  Mile,  which  now  contains  very 
few  people,  the  great  majority  of  the  miners 
remaining  on  their  claims  all  winter,  coming  in 
only  once  or  twice  for  supplies.  Even  in  the  case 
of  the  mine  at  Cone  Hill  being  worked,  only  a 
village  would  be  formed  around  it. 

"Outside  of  all  such  considerations,  the  present 
applicants  for  Forty  Mile  and  Cudahy  town  sites 
have  either  directly  or  indirectly  occupied  the 
present  sites  for  years  and  spent  thousands  of 
dollars  improving  and  building  on  them.  One 
house  erected  in  Forty  Mile  last  summer  is  said 
to  have  cost  $10,000.  It  would  cost  between 
$3,000  and  $3,000  in  Ottawa.    These  improve- 


Golden  Alaska. 


245 


ments  cover  so  much  ground  that,  even  if  it  were 
decided  to  lay  out  the  town  site  and  convey  it  in 
lots,  the  applicants  would  have  a  claim  to  most 
of  the  ground  they  ask  for. 


ti 


'A  couple  of  coal  claims  have  been  staked  and 
applied  for,  which  I  will  survey  in  the  spring, 
and  at  the  same  time  make  an  examination  of  the 
coal  area  where  they  are.  I  may  anticipate  this 
to  a  cert  ^in  extent  by  saying  that  a  few  days  after 
I  reported  to  you  last  fall  I  went  up  Coal  Creek 
to  ser  .h  for  this  coal,  to  which  I  referred  in  my 
report  of  1887  and  1888.  I  found  it  about  seven 
miles  up  the  creek,  overlying  a  coarse  sandstone 
and  under  drift  clay  and  gravel. 

"The  seam  is  twelve  feet  six  inches  thick.  It 
seems  to  me  to  be  a  good  quality  of  lignite. 
I  have  packed  thirty  or  forty  pounds  of  the  best 
specimens  I  found  a  few  feet  in,  and  will  send 
them  out  to  you  in  the  spring,  that  a  test  may  be 
made.  That  exposure  has  now  been  staked  and 
applied  for  to  the  agent  here.  I  judge  from  the 
position  of  these  coal  claims  that  we  have  quite 
an  area  of  coal  here.  Both  exposures  furnish,  as 
far  as  external  features  show,  the  same  character 
of  coal,  and  are  about  the  same  level,  so  that  it  is 
fair  to  assume  they  are  in  the  same  seam.     I  will 


346 


Golden  Alaska. 


make  a  search  in  the  intervening  distance  to 
determine  this  when  I  make  a  survey  of  the 
claims.  Coal  is  reported  in  the  drift  on  the 
Chandindu,  about  thirty  miles  up  the  river  from 
here,  which  would  go  to  show  that  there  is 
another  area  or  a  continuation  of  this  one  there. 

"On  my  way  down  the  river  I  saw  the  copper- 
bearing  vein  near  Thron-Diuck  Creek  above  Fort 
Reliance.  It  does  not  appear  to  be  extensive, 
but  there  are  several  small  veins  in  the  vicinity, 
and  it  may  be  that  a  commercially  valuable 
deposit  may  be  found.  About  twenty-five  miles 
farther  down  I  found  a  small  vein,  which  indicates 
that  this  copper  deposit  is  extensive. 

"I  found  a  small  seam  of  rather  poor  asbestos 
a  short  distance  from  Cudahy,  and  as  there  is 
quite  an  extensive  area  of  serpentine  around  here, 
asbestos  may  yet  be  found  of  commercial  value. 

"Very  rich  placer  diggings  are  now  being 
worked  on  the  creeks  flowing  into  Sixty  Mile, 
part  of  which  are  supposed  to  be  in  Canada.  I 
shall  be  able  to  say  definitely,  when  I  produce  the 
line  that  far,  where  they  are  and  how  much 
we  have  of  them. 

"Except  in  the  vicinity  of  Forty  Mile,  there 
appears  to  be  nothing  doing  in  the  way  of  quartz 
prospecting. 


Golden  Alaska. 


247 


({' 


'Last  season  good  placer  mines  were  found  on 
the  Hootalinqua — Teslin  of  Dawson — with  coarse 
gold  in  them,  and  there  will  probably  be  a  lot  of 
claims  worked  there  next  season.  Several  miners 
wei'e  wintering  there  to  commence  operations  early 
in  the  spring.  A  great  deal  of  improvement  has 
been  introduced  in  the  working  of  placer  diggings, 
which  has  much  increased  the  output.  The 
miner,  instead  of  putting  in  the  winter  months 
in  the  towns  and  saloons,  remains  on  his  claim 
all  winter,  cutting  wood  in  the  earlier  months, 
with  which  he  builds  fires  and  thaws  the  frozen 
gravel,  piling  it  up  to  be  washed  as  soon  as  the 
flow  of  water  in  the  spring  will  permit.  In  this 
way  the  work  is  more  than  doubled,  but  as  the 
supply  of  wood  is  very  limited,  except  on  the 
main  river,  this  cannot  always  be  done. 

"The  police  have  so  far  made  a  very  favorable 
impression,  and  the  general  policy  of  the  govern- 
ment in  connection  with  this  district  is  admired, 

"The  merchants  are  well  satisfied  with  the 
establishment  of  a  court  of  justice,  and  look  for 
the  early  addition  of  some  sort  of  a  court  of  record 
where  transfers  and  claims  can  be  recorded,  so 
that  the  collection  of  debts  can  be  undertaken 
with  some  degree  of  certainty.  As  it  is,  A  trans- 
fers to  B,  who  keeps  the  record  as  long  as  it  pays 


Ify.-r- 


248 


Golden  Alaska. 


him  to  do  so ;  but  if  he  is  dishonest  and  A  is 
absent  or  dishonest,  too,  he  may  destroy  it,  and 
repudiate  payment  of  his  debts.  This  has  occurred 
already,  and  as  a  good  deal  of  transferring  and 
counter  transferring  is  indulged  in,  it  may  occur 
more  frequently  in  the  future  unless  some  court 
of  record  is  created. 

"It  is  probable  that  the  boundaries  of  the  police 
jurisdiction  may  have  to  be  extended  in  the  near 
future,  for  a  good  deal  of  trading  is  done  on  the 
head  waters  of  the  river  by  parties  who  cross  the 
summit  of  the  coast  passes  with  goods  from 
Juneau.  Also  the  miners  on  the  head  -..aters  and 
on  the  Hootalinqua  bring  in  their  supplies  from 
Juneau.  Now,  one  of  the  traders  here — Harper 
— ^has  a  small  steamboat  named  the  'Beaver,' 
which  he  got  in  last  season  for  the  express  pur- 
piose  of  reaching  the  upper  parts  of  the  river  and 
its  affluents  with  supplies,  and,  having  paid  duty 
on  all  his  foreign  goods,  expects  to  be  protected 
against  smuggled  goods.  Should  the  Hootalinqua 
turn  out  as  expected  and  promised,  a  police  force 
will  be  required  there.  Harper  will  try  hard  to 
get  up  with  supplies  to  it  and  Teslin  Lake.  1 
fancy  he  can  lay  down  most  things  there  as 
cheaply  as  they  can  be  brought  over  the  pass.  It 
coet  $14  to  $15 — sometimes  more — per  100  pounds 


Golden  Alaska. 


249 


to  transport  from  Tiaya  to  the  lakes,  which  makes 
flour  cost  $16  to  $17  per  100  at  the  lake,  while  it 
costs  or  is  sold  here  for  $8.  Things  here  are  sold 
so  low  now  that,  were  I  ever  coming  in  from  the 
Pacific  again  I  would  bring  nothing  in  quantity  but 
bacon,  on  which  I  might  save  a  dollar  or  two  a 
hundred,  it  being  sold  here  for  $30  to  $35  per  100. 
*  '1  have  produced  the  boundary  line  about  five 
miles  north  of  where  jt  crosses  the  Yukon  River, 
which  is  as  far  as  I  thought  needful  at  present. 
I  have  also  produced  it  about  seven  miles  south, 
and  about  the  end  of  February  will  resume  work 
and  run  it  as  far  as  Sixty  Mile  River.  In  connec- 
tion with  this  I  have  occupied  six  photograph 
stations  and  developed  all  the  plates  exposed 
which  have  turned  out  satisfactorily.  I  have 
made  a  cross-section  measurement  of  the  Yukon 
River  where  the  boundary  crosses  i*. 

•'In  the  vicinity  of  the  river  I  have  opened  out 
a  wide  line  in  the  woods,  which  will  remain 
visible  for  several  years,  but  I  erected  nothing 
permanent  on  it. 


**Up  to  date  the  lowest  temperature  has  been  63 
degrees  below  zero.  The  winter  has  been  unusally 
windy.     Coming  up  here  we  had  to  face  a  strong 


250 


Golden  Alaska. 


wind  when  52  degrees  below  zero,  and  frozen 
faces  and  noses  were  the  rule  of  the  day. 
"No  mail  from  outside  since  September." 


"CuDAHY,  10  :h  June,  1896. 

*' After- my  return  there  was  some  fine,  clear 
weather  in  January,  but  it  was  exceedingly  cold, 
more  than  60  degrees  below  zero,  one  night  68.5, 
and  as  I  had  both  my  ears  pretty  badly  frozen 
and  could  not  go  out  in  such  cold  without  having 
them  covered,  so  that  I  could  not  hear  the 
chronometer  beat,  I  could  not  observe  until  the 
end  of  the  month,  when  we  had  two  fine  nights 
— 29th  and  30th — ^mild  enough  for  me  to  work. 

*'As  there  were  no  important  creeks  between 
the  Yukon  and  Forty  Mile  Rivers,  I  did  not  cut  the 
line  out  continuously,  but  left  it  so  that  any  one 
wishing  to  can  place  himself  on  or  very  near  to  the 
line.  The  distance  from  the  Yukon  to  Forty  Mile 
River  is  a  little  over  twenty-five  miles.  In  the 
valleys  along  the  line  the  timber  was  thick,  wit!i 
much  underbrush ;  but  very  little  of  it  of  much 
value.  Curiously  enough,  the  line  kept  generally 
in  the  valleys  or  on  the  sides  of  them,  and  there 
was  very  little  of  it  in  the  open.  Going  from 
point  to  point  we  had  to  follow  as  much  as 
possible  the  hill  tops  and  ridges.    I  reached  Forty 


^ 


Golden  Alaska. 


251 


Mile  River  with  this  survey  on  the  13th  March. 
From  this  point  southward  there  are  many  streams 
cut  by  the  line,  all  of  which  are  more  or  less  gold- 
bearing  and  all  have  been  more  or  less  prospected. 
This  necessitated  my  cutting  the  line  out  continu- 
ously from  Forty  Mile  River  onward,  which 
increased  our  work  very  much.  The  valleys 
traversed  are  generally  upward  of  1,000  feet  deep 
and  often  very  steep,  so  that  the  work  was 
exceedingly  laborious. 

"Transporting  our  outfit  from  camp  to  camp 
was  jt.an  a  ver}'^  hard  task,  as  the  hills  were  so 
steep  everything  had  to  be  packed  up  them, 
which  in  the  deep,  soft  snow  was  anything  but 
easy.  I  reached  a  point  within  two  miles  of 
Sixty  Mile  River  on  the  14th  April,  and  as  I  had 
passed  all  the  creeks  of  any  note,  and  many  of 
them  were  already  running  water  and  our  way 
lay  down  them,  I  thought  it  well  to  quit  work  on 
the  line  and  return  to  Forty  Mile  and  Cudahy 
and  attend  to  the  local  surveys  there.  The 
weather  was  fine  and  warm,  and  so  much  water 
ran  in  the  creeks  by  which  we  had  to  return  that 
we  cox'M  only  travel  a  few  hours  in  the  early 
morning  and  forenoon.  Had  the  season  been 
more  favorable  I  would  have  visited  Glacier  and 
Miller  creeks,  which  were  generally  supposed  to 


i 


2S« 


Golden  Alaska. 


be  in  Alaska,  but  are  found  to  run  in  Canada  for 
some  distance.  They  are  the  two  richest  creeks 
yet  found  on  the  Yukon,  and  are  both  tributaries 
of  Sixty  Mile  River.  Both  creeks  are  fully  located 
and  worked,  each  claim  being  500  feet  along  the 
creek  and  the  width  of  the  valley  or  creek  bed. 
There  are  nearly  100  claims,  all  of  which  pay 
well.  One  on  Miller  Creek,  I  understand,  will 
yield  $70,000  to  $80,000  this  season,  and  the 
owner  will  net,  it  is  said,  between  $40,000  and 
$50,000.  He  took  out,  it  is  reported,  nearly  half 
that  sum  last  year  off  the  same  claim,  and  expects 
to  do  equally  well  next  year.  This  is  much 
the  richest  claim  yet  found,  but  all  on  these 
creeks  do  well.  There  are  many  other 
creeks  in  this  vicinity  yet  to  be  prospected, 
and  some  will,  I  have  no  doubt,  pay  well.  Gold 
is  found  all  along  the  valley  of  the  Sixty  Mile 
River,  and  under  more  favorable  conditions,  both 
mercantile  and  climatic,  it  would  yield  good 
results  to  large  enterprises.  The  mercantile 
conditions  will  improve ;  the  climate  is  a  serious 
difficulty,  but  will  be  surmounted  in  time,  I 
believe.  Along  the  last  ten  or  twelve  miles  of 
the  line  I  ran  the  mountains  consist  principally  of 
quartz  and  schists,  which  no  doubt  originally  held 
the  gold  found  in  the  valleys  and  doubtless  hold 


Golden  Alaska. 


*S3 


some  yet.  Several  men  have  taken  to  quartz 
prospecting,  and  from  indications  which  I  will 
dwell  on  later  I  believe  we  are  on  the  eve  of  some 
magnificent  discoveries. 

"The  miners  on  all  the  creeks  referred  to  have 
quietly  accepted  my  line  as  the  boundary /r^  tem.^ 
and  as  far  as  I  can  learn  at  present  the  general 
feeling  is  satisfaction  that  one  can  now  know 
where  he  is.  Even  if  the  line  is  not  final,  no  one 
doubts  its  being  very  near  the  final  position.  As 
far  as  run  it  is  marked  by  cairns  of  stones  wher- 
ever it  was  possible  to  procure  them  with  reason- 
able time  and  labor,  and  is  cut  through  the  woods 
and  blazed,  so  that  no  one  who  wants  to  find  it 
can  mistake  it.  Another  source  of  satisfaction  to 
all  is  that  they  now  know  distances  and  directions. 
Many  miners  remark  to  me:  *  We  now  know  how 
we  are  going,  we  can  see  where  south  is.'  In 
this  high  latitude  in  the  summer  months  it  is 
impossible  to  tell  when  the  sun  is  near  the 
meridian  because  its  change  in  altitude  is  so 
little  for  eight  or  nine  hours,  consequently  any 
point  between  east  and  west  was  called  some- 
where near  south.  This  helps  to  explain  much 
of  the  variance  in  the  direction  of  points  as  g^ven 
by  miners  and  others  who  have  no  compass  or 


«7 


254 


Golden  Alaska. 


f  I 


are  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  one  and  the 
application  of  the  declination. 

"Some  sort  of  registration  office  is  now 
and  will  be  still  more  needed  in  the  country. 

"Another  inconvenience  is  the  want  of  a 
trade  medium ;  there  is  very  little  coin,  nearly 
all  business  being  transacted  in  gold  du'jt, 
which  passes  current  at  $17  per  ounce  troy,*  but, 
as  most  of  it  will  not  assay  that,  there  is  some 
hardship  to  those  taking  it  out,  though  there  may 
be  no  actual  loss.  If  enough  money  were  sent  in 
to  pay  the  Northwest  mounted  police  for  some 
time  it  would  help  for  a  period  at  least,  and 
would  emphasize  the  existence  of  Canada.  What 
coin  and  bills  are  here  are  largely  American. 

"Another  important  question  is  the  treatment 

of  the  liquor  business,  which  cannot  be  ignored 

much    longer.     There    are    several    saloons   in 

Forty  Mile  and  one  in  Cudahy,  yet  there  is  no 

law  recognizing  them  nor  regulating  them  in  any 

way.     It  would  be  almost  impossible  and  very 

unpopular  were  any  attempt  made  to  close  them. 

♦The  net  value  of  the  gold  received  by  the  department  was 
found  to  be  only  $16.50  per  ounce,  9  cents  01  which  were 
silver.  Deducting  freight,  insurance,  mint  charges  and 
bank  commission,  the  amount  realized  is  reduced  to  $15.77. 
Inspectoi  Constantine,  N.  W.  M.  P.,  quotes  assays  by  the 
United  States  office  at  Helena,  Mont.,  of  gold  from  eight 
creeks,  ranging  from  $14.46  for  the  Upper  Lewes  to  $17.33 
for  Davis  Creek.    The  average  is  $16.13. 


Golden  Alaska. 


255 


Liquor  could  not  be  kept  out  of  the  country  if  the 
whole  Northwest  mounted  police  were  scattered 
around  the  river. 

"Another  subject  which  I  have  mentioned 
before  is  that  of  the  timber.  Large  quantities  of 
timber  are  being  and  have  been  cut  in  our 
territory,  and  floated  down  the  river  to  American 
territory,  where  it  is  used,  and  Canada  derives 
no  benefit.  Were  it  used  to  develop  our  country 
it  would  matter  less ;  in  fact,  I  would  encourage 
such  use ;  but  to  see  the  best  of  our  timber  taken 
out  without  any  sort  of  benefit  to  the  country  is, 
I  think,  worthy  of  some  sort  of  attention.  There 
is  very  little  useful  timber  in  the  country,  and 
much  of  what  does  exist  is  cut  into  fuel,  while 
more  of  it  goes  beyond  the  boundary.  In  the 
near  future  we  shall  feel  the  want  of  it.  I  have 
spoken  to  the  agent  about  it,  but  he  has  no 
authority  to  act,  and,  if  he  had,  is  disinclined  to 
run  up  and  down  the  river  looking  after  it  unless 
he  has  a  steamer. 

"  "Some  sort  of  a  court  for  the  collection  of  debts 
is  required  here  now,  and  whether  or  not  the 
agent  could  act  in  that  capacity  is  a  question  to 
be  decided. 

"The  merchants  here  who  pay  duty  are  natur- 
ally dissatisfied  at  the  smuggling  done  on  the 


2S6 


Golden  Alaska. 


r: 


upper  river  and  ask  for  some  sort  of  protection. 
It  might  be  advisable  to  have  a  squad  of  police 
and  an  officer  somewhere  on  the  lake  to  look 
after  that.  I  am  thoroughly  convinced  that  a 
road  from  the  coast  to  some  point  on  the  head 
waters  of  the  river,  preferably  by  the  Taku,  if  at 
all  practicable,  would  convert  all  our  part  of  the 
river  into  a  hive  of  industry.  It  may  be  said 
there  is  no  competition,  and  anyway,  in  the 
present  conditions  of  trade,  things  cannot  be  sold 
very  much  cheaper  at  a  fair  profit.  Once  let  a 
railroad  get  from  some  point  on  the  coast  to 
some  point  on  the  river  so  that  we  can  have 
cheap,  quick,  and  certain  entrance  and  exit,  and 
the  whole  Yukon  basin  will  be  worked.  At 
present  the  long  haul  makes  the  expense  of 
mining  machinery  practically  prohibitive,  for  the 
cost  of  transport  is  often  more  than  the  first 
cost  of  the  machine. 

"Assays  of  the  Cone  Hill  quartz  are  very 
satisfactory,  and  the  quantity  good  for  genera- 
tions  of  work ;  were  it  on  the  coast,  the  Treadwell 
mine  would  be  diminutive  beside  it.  Five  tons 
of  rock  are  being  sent  out  from  it  for  a  mill  test,, 
and  should  they  prove  satisfactory,  as  the  test  cf 
a  ton  sent  out  last  year,  I  understand  the  parties 
owning  it  will  proceed  to  develop  it.     If  it  starts 


Golden  Alaska. 


257 


and  proves  reasonably  successful,  there  are  scores 
of  other  places  in  the  country  that  may  yield  as 
well.  An  expert  here  who  prospects  for  the 
N.  A,  T.  &T.  Co.  found  a  ledge  last  spring  on 
the  Chandindu  River  of  Schwatka  (known  as 
Twelve  Mile  Creek  here)  and  located  two  full 
claims  on  it.  He  told  me  the  assay  he  made  of 
my  sj^cimens  of  it  was  much  more  satisfactory 
than  that  of  Cone  Hill,  and  this  ledge,  he  claims, 
is  where  a  commencement  should  be  made  in 
quartz  milling  in  this  country,  and  there  would 
be  no  fear  of  the  result.  He  appears  to  be  pretty 
well  versed  in  mining  lore,  is  a  practical  assayer 
— ^that  is  his  profession — and  says  he  never  saw 
or  read  of  anything  like  it  for  extent  in  the  world 
He  informed  me  there  were  extensive  deposits 
of  coal  about  twenty  miles  up  the  creek,  and 
this  ledge  was  about  four  miles  up.  He  has  no 
doubt  but  that  the  copper  around  Fort  Reliance 
will,  with  better  facilities,  yet  be  a  valuable 
feature  of  the  country.  He  showed  me  a  lump 
of  native  copper  some  Indians  said  they  found  on 
the  head  of  White  River,  but  could  not  or  would 
not  specify  where.  Speaking  of  White  River 
reminds  me  that  it  and  Sixty  Mile  are  very  close 
together  in  the  vicinity  of  the  boundary.  I  was 
told  it  was  only  a  short  walk  from  the  creeks  of 


an 


i|ii.iljp!l|||.lijpi)9i>         .  ^> 


I   I     i.iipii  iipi 


258 


Golden  Alaska. 


one  to  the  creeks  of  the  other,  but  how  far  from 
stream  to  stream  is  uncertain. 

"This  expert  is  an  American  who  has  spent 
many  years  of  his  life  in  the  best  mining  districts 
in  the  United  States,  and  he  assures  me  this 
country  promises  better  than  any  he  ever  saw 
before,  and  as  an  evidence  of  his  satisfaction  with 
it  he  is  going  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  life  here. 

"Great  anxiety  is  felt  here  about  a  mail  route 
and  regular  mail. .  Last  winter  three  mails  left 
the  coast,  one  by  the  Taku  route,  one  by  the 
White  pass,  and  one  via  Taiya ;  the  first  two  got 
here  in  good  time,  the  last  (ours,  by  the  way)  did 
not,  nor  is  it  likely  to  arrive  for  some  time — 
maybe  never.  The  man  in  charge  was  badly 
frozen  on  the  summit,  and  had  to  turn  back, 
leaving  the  mail  behind  him,  and  it  is  now  prob- 
ably buried  in  fathoms  of  snow.  An  Indian 
brought  the  mail  in  by  the  Taku  and  took  the 
Slocan  branch  of  it  to  Atlin  Lake.  From  what  I 
learned  of  this  route,  while  up  there  it  may  be 
fbund  to  afford  an  easier  way  than  by  Teslin 
Lake,  but  it  has  the  disadvantage  of  landing  on 
the  head  of  the  Lewes  instead  of  the  Hootalinqua 
or  Teslin,  and  so  takes  in  the  caiion  and  White 
Horse  Rapids. 

"Last  winter  many  of  the  residents  and  miners 


Golden  Alaska. 


259 


here  talked  to  me  about  the  mails  and  what  the 
government  intended  in  that  direction ;  of  course 
I  could  tell  them  nothing.  They  made  their 
views  known  by  getting  up  a  petition  to  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior. 

"The  Alaska  Commercial  Company  are  putting 
a  new  and  powerful  steamer  on  the  river,  which 
will  make  four — the  'Arctic, '  'Alice, '  and ' Emma, ' 
large,  and  the  *Bedon,'  small.  There  is  some 
talk  of  the  N.  A.  T.  &  T.  Co.  putting  on  a  sister 
boat  to  the  'Portus  B.  Weare.'  All  are  stern- 
wheel  boats.  * 

"From  my  camera  stations  on  the  boundary  I 
saw  many  high  mountains,  some  of  them  not  less 
than  8,000  feet,  and  some  I  believe  10,000.  Some 
of  the  prominent  ones  I  have  named  after  the 
pioneers  of  the  country,  notably  one.  Mount 
.Campbell,  after  the  late  Mr.  Robert  Campbell,  of 
the  Hudson  Bay  Company,  who  established  Fort 
Selkirk.  It  is  about  sixty  miles  due  east  of  here, 
and  is  a  noteworthy  peak  in  that  it  stands  on  top 
of  an  extensive,  well  defined  range,  rising  like  a 
lofty  pillar  about  1,000  feet  above  the  ridge.  It 
is,  as  far  as  seen,  the  most  remarkable  peak  in 

*The  estimates  submitted  at  the  last  session  of  Parlia- 
ment contain  an  item  of  $5,000  for  the  i)urcha8e  of  a 
steamer  for  the  use  of  the  Mounted  Police  in  the  Yukon 
District 


iliw  rmm,tiamM^uAmMiim 


360 


Golden  Alaska. 


the  country.  I  have  not  made  any  computations 
yet,  but  I  do  not  think  its  summit  is  much,  if  any, 
less  than  10,000  feet  above  the  sea.  No  one 
noticed  it  before,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  only 
about  600  feet  wide,  is  always  black,  and  very 
distant  from  points  where  it  can  be  seen  around 
here." 

"CuDAHY,  June  25,  1896. 
"Horses  could  be  laid  down  here  for,  I  would 
say,  about  $250  per  head,  and  the  same  animals 
ought  to  last  the  whole  survey.  Horses  that 
have  been  in  use  here,  packing  to  the  mines  in 
the  summer  and  hauling  wood  in  the  winter,  for 
several  years  are  still  serviceable,  notwithstanding 
that  they  live  only  on  the  coarse  grasses  of 
the  country.  They  pack  200  pounds  apiece 
from  Forty  Mile  River  at  the  mouth  of  Moore 
Creek  to  the  mines  on  Miller  Creek  (about  seven- 
teen and  a  half  or  eighteen  miles),  and  climb 
some  very  steep,  long  hills  on  the  way,  taking 
two  days  with  loads  and  one  day  without ;  all  they 
get  to  eat  is  what  they  find. 

*        «        ♦        «        ♦«        «        * 

"My  last  report  told  you  of  the  agent  here  going 
to  Miller  and  Glacier  creeks  and  collecting  fees  and 
making  entries;  as  he  did  not  go  west  of  those 


Golden  Alaska. 


261 


creeks,  no  complications  will  arise,  for,  as  you  will 
see  by  my  sketch  map,  they  are  within  (  anada. 
I  may  say  here  that  one  claim  on  Miller  Creek 
turned  out  about  $70,000  last  winter,  and  several 
others  have  done  very  well,  too.  So  far  nearly 
all  the  miners  have  passed  here,  going  to  Circle 
City  (about  200  miles  down),  and  I  have  no  doubt 
many  of  them  will  keep  on  going. 

•'About  100  miners  are  reported  on  the  Hoot- 
alinqua  this  summer.  We  shall  probably  soon 
have  to  extend  law  and  order  there. 

*'Many  here  make  gardens,  using  any  seed 
they  can  get,  and  some  are  going  to  try  grasses 
for  fodder.  I  would  suggest  the  director  of  the 
Central  Experimental  Farm  be  asked  to  send  in 
seeds  of  the  kinds  of  ordinary  vegetables  and 
grasses  best  suited  to  such  a  climate  as  this,  to  be 
distributed  by  the  agent  here  to  those  who  will 
make  a  proper  use  of  them,  or  for  sale  at  cost.  I 
am  quite  sure  it  would  be  of  much  service,  and  if 
some  hints  on  the  proper  care  of  plants  were  sent 
in  it  would  be  more  so,  as  most  of  the  people  in 
here  know  practically  nothing  of  gardening  or 
•farming.  Besides,  it  would  improve  the  feeling 
among  the  people  here  toward  our  country  and 
institutions,  and  would  cost  the  country  practically 
nothing. ' ' 


36a 


Golden  Alaska. 


<<i 


'*CunAHY,  August  i8,  1896. 

'It  is  now  certain  that  coal  extends  along  the 
valley  of  the  Yukon  from  Coal  Creek  for  ten  or 
twelve  miles  down,  and  from  Coal  Creek  up  to 
Twelve  Mile  Creek,  which  flows  into  the  Yukon 
about  thirty  miles  above  here.  The  latter  stretch 
is  cut  off  from  the  river  by  several  miles  of  hills, 
as  it  is  about  six  miles  direct  from  the  river  at 
Coal  Creek  and  about  eighteen  on  Twelve  Mile 
Creek.  This  is  the  stream  named  Chandindu  by 
Schwatka.  There  is  a  seam  on  it  about  six  feet 
thick,  as  reported  by  an  expert  who  went  in 
search  of  it.  I  found  drift  coal  on  the  south 
branch  of  Coal  Creek. 

**On  the  Cornell  claim  on  Cliff  Creek  the  seam 
is  five  feet  four  inches  thick.  I  have  sent  speci- 
mens of  it  out.  I  found  it  necessary  to  refer  to 
the  different  creeks,  so  had  to  name  them  'Shell 
Creek,'  because  I  found  a  stone  with  a  shell 
impression  at  its  mouth;  *  Cliff  Creek,*  because  it 
enters  the  river  at  the  foot  of  a  high  cliff,  and 
'Flat  Creek,'  because  it  enters  the  river  in  a  large 
flat. 

•'Glacier  Creek  is  turning  out  ver}'  well,  and 
several  good  creeks  have  been  discovered  up 
Forty  Mile  in  Alaska." 


Golden  Alaska. 


263 


"Cud AH Y,  6th  September,  1896, 
**I  am  very  much  pleased  to  be  able  to  inform 
you  that  a  most  important  discovei^  of  gold  has 
been  made  on  a  creek  called  Bonanza  Creek,  an 
affluent  of  the  river  known  her^  as  the  Klondike.  * 
It  is  marked  on  the  maps  extant  as  Deer  River, 
and  joins  the  Yukon  a  few  miles  above  the  site  of 
Fort  Reliance. 

"The  discovery  was  made  by  G.  W.  Cormack, 
who  worked  with  me  in  1887  on  the  coast  range. 
The  indications  are  that  it  is  very  rich,  indeed  the 
richest  yet  found,  and  as  far  as  work  has  been 
carried  on  it  realizes  expectations.  It  is  only  two 
weeks  since  it  was  known,  and  already  about  200 
claims  have  been  staked  on  it,  and  the  creek  is 
not  yet  exhausted;  it  and  its  branches  are 
considered  good  for  300  or  400  claims.  Besides 
there  are  two  other  creeks  above  it  which,  it  is 
confidently  expected,  will  yield  good  pay,  and  if 
they  do  so  we  have  from  800  to  1,000  claims 
on  this  river  which  will  require  over  2,000  men 
for  their  proper  working.  Between  Thron-Diuck 
River  and  Stewart  River  a  large  creek  called 
Indian  Creek  flows  into  the  Yukon,  and  rich 
prospects  have  been  found  on  it,  and  no  doubt  it 
is  in  the  gold  bearing  country  between  Thron- 


•The  correct  name  is  Thron  Diuck. 


264 


Golden  Alaska. 


Diuck  and  Stewart  rivers,  which  is  considered 
by  all  the  old  miners  the  best  and  most  extensive 
gold  country  yet  found.  Scores  of  them  would 
prospect  it  but  for  the  fact  that  they  cannot  get 
provisions  up  there,  and  it  is  too  far  to  boat  them 
up  from  here  in  small  boats. 

•'This  new  find  will  necessitate  an  upward  step 
on  the  Yukon,  and  help  the  Stewart  River  region. 

*'News  has  just  arrived  from  Bonanza  Creek 
that  three  men  worked  cut  $75  in  four  hours  the 
other  day,  and  a  $12  nugget  has  been  found, 
which  assures  the  character  of  the  ground — 
namely,  coarse  gold  and  plenty  of  it,  as  three 
times  this  can  be  done  with  sluice  boxes.  You 
can  fancy  the  excitement  here.  It  is  claimed 
that  from  $100  to  $500  per  day  can  be  made  off 
the  ground  that  has  been  prospected  so  far.  As 
we  have  about  100  claims  on  Glacier  and  Miller 
creeks,  with  three  or  four  hundred  in  this  vicinity, 
next  year  it  is  imperative  that  a  man  be  seri: 
in  here  to  look  after  these  claims  and  all  land 
matters,  and  it  is  almost  imperative  that  the 
agent  be  a  surveyor.  Already  on  Bonanza  Creek 
they  are  disputing  about  the  size  of  claims. 

*'As  I  have  already  pretty  fully  reported  on 
coal,  I  will  only  adc^  that  it  is  reported  in 
abundance  only  eight  miles  up  Chandindu  River, 


Golden  Alaska. 


265 


where  a  seam  over  six  feet  thick  has  been  found 
of  the  same  quality  as  that  already  described." 

"CuDAHY,  '^ivember  6,  1896. 
"As  I  have  already  intimated,  rich  placer 
mines  of  gold  were  discovered  on  the  branches  of 
this  stream  (the  Thron-Diuck),  The  discovery, 
I  believe,  was  due  to  the  reports  of  Indians.  A 
white  man  named  GeorgeW.Cormack,  who  worked 
with  me  in  1887,  was  the  first  to  take  advantage 
of  the  rumors  and  locate  a  claim  on  the  first 
branch,  which  was  named  by  the  miners  Bonanza 
Creek.  C«)rmack  located  late  in  August,  but  had 
to  cut  logs  for  the  mill  here  to  get  a  few  pounds 
of  provisions  to  enable  him  to  begin  work  cm  his 
claim.  The  fishing  at  Thron-Diuck  having 
totally  failed  him,  he  returned  with  a  few  weeks' 
provisions  for  himself,  his  wife,  and  brother-in- 
law  (Indians)  and  another  Indian  in  the  last  days 
of  August,  and  immediately  set  about  working 
his  claim.  As  he  was  very  short  of  appliances, 
he  could  only  put  together  a  rather  defective 
apparatus  to  wash  the  gravel  with.  Th-^  gravel 
itself  he  had  to  carry  in  a  box  on  his  back  from 
thirty  to  one  hundred  feet;  notwithstanding  this, 
the  three  men,  working  very  irregularly,  washed 
out  $1,200  in  eight  days,  and  Cormack  asserts, 
with  reason,  that  had  he  had  proper  facilitie*  it 


266 


Golden  Alaska. 


could  have  been  done  in  two  days,  besides  having 
several  hundred  dollars  more  gold  Which  was 
lost  in  the  tailings  through  defective  apparatus. 

*'On  the  same  creex  two  men  rocked  out  $75  in 
about  four  hours,  and  it  is  asserted  that  two  men 
in  the  same  creek  took  v->ut  $4,000  in  two  days 
with  only  two  lengths  of  sluice  boxes.  This  last 
is  doubted,  but  Mr.  Leduc  assures  me  he  weighed 
that  much  gold  for  them,  but  is  not  positive  where 
they  got  it.  They  were  newcomers,  and  had  not 
done  much  in  the  country,  so  the  probabilities 
are  they  got  it  on  Bonanza  Creek.  A  branch  of 
Bonanza  Creek  named  Eldorado  has  prospected 
magnificently,  and  another  branch  named  Tilly 
Creek  has  prospected  well.  In  all,  there  are 
some  four  or  five  branches  to  Bonanza  Creek 
which  have  given  good  prospects.  There  are 
about  1 70  claims  staked  on  the  main  creek,  and 
the  branches  are  good  for  about  as  many  more, 
aggregoiting,  say,  350  claims,  which  will  require 
over  1,000  men  to  work  properly. 

"A  few  miles  farther  up  Bear  Creek  enters 
Thron-Diuck,  and  it  has  been  prospected  and 
located  on.  Compared  with  Bonanza,  it  is  small 
and  will  not  afford  more  than  twenty  or  thirty 
claims,  it  is  said.  About  twelve  miles  above  the 
mouth    Gold-bottom,  Creek  joins  Thron-Diuck, 


Golden  Alaska. 


2  6  J 


and  on  it  and  a  branch  named  Hunker  Creek 
(after  the  discoverer)  very  rich  ground  has  been 
found.  One  man  showed  me  $22.75  ^^  took  out 
in  a  few  hours  on  Himker  Creek  with  a  gold  pan, 
prospecting  his  claim  on  the  surface,  taking  a 
handful  here  and  there  as  fancy  suggested.  On 
Gold-bottom  Creek  and  branches  there  will 
probably  be  200  or  300  claims.  The  Indians 
have  reported  another  ci'eek  much  farther  up, 
which  they  call  'Too  Much  Gold  Creek,'  on  which 
the  gold  is  so  plentiful  that,  as  the  miners  say  in 
joke,  'you  have  to  mix  gravel  with  it  to  sluice  it.' 
Up  to  date  nothing  definite  has  been  heard  from 
this  creek. 

"In  my  opinion,  it  is  imperative  that  this 
business  be  brought  under  control  at  once,  or  it 
may  develop  phases  that  will  be  at  least  annoying 
in  the  near  future. 

"I  have  in  previous  reports  intimated  that 
some  sort  of  legal  machinery  is  now  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  trial  of  cases  of  contract, 
collection  of  debts,  and  generally  the  judicial 
interests  of  the  country.  There  are  several 
cases  of  hardship  now  for  the  want  of  a  proper 
court. 

"If  some  sort  of  court  to  satisfy  the  necessities 
of  the  people  in  business  here  is  not  at  once 


36S 


Golden  Alaska, 


estabh'shed  serious  inconvenience  will  result. 
The  officer  appointed  will  require  to  be  a  hale, 
vigorous  person,  for  it  is  probable  he  will  have 
to  make  journeys  of  considerable  length  across 
unoccupied  country  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty. 

"There  have  been  several  applications  for  land 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth  of  the  Thron-Diuck, 
and  Inspector  Constantine  has  selected  a  reserve 
for  government  purposes  at  the  confluence  of  that 
stream  with  the  Yukon,  forty  acres  in  extent. 

"A  court  or  office  of  record  in  real  estate 
transactions  will  require  to  be  opened  here  at 
once.  A  recorder  was  appointed  in  Forty  Mile 
and  a  plat  made  in  1894.  In  anticipation  of 
my  going  out  this  fall,  I  got  a  meeting  held  of 
the  property-owners  and  had  them  hand  the 
records  over  to  me  for  the  information  of  the 
department.  They  are  in  my  possession  yet,  and 
I  will  take  them  out  with  me  when  I  go.  They 
a-^  rather  crude  in  form  and  require  an  initiate 
to  understand  them.     I  act  as  recorder  pro  tern. 

"Before  closing  I  may  say  that  every  report 
that  comes  in  from  Bonanza,  Creek  is  more 
encouraging  than  the  last.  Prospecting  has  only 
begun,  and  up  to  date  of  mailing,  November  2 2d, 
very  rich  prospects  have  been  found  on  Uie  few 


Golden  Alaska. 


269 


claims  prospected  on ;  from  one  dollar  to  the  pan 
of  dirt  up  to  twelve  dollars  are  reported,  and  no 
bed  rock  found  yet.  This  means  from  $1,000  to 
$12,000  per  day  per  man  sluicing. 

**The  excitement  is  intense,  but  at  this  season 
of  the  year  it  is  naturally  very  local. 

"I  expect  a  mail  will  be  starting  from  here  in 
January,  and  I  will  try  and  send  out  a  short 
report  by  it  embracing  events  up  to  date." 

*'CuDAHY,  9th  December,  1896. 

"Since  my  last  the  prospects  on  Bonanza  Creek 
and  tributaries  are  increasing  in  richness  and 
extent  until  now  it  is  certain  that  millions  will  be 
taken  out  of  the  district  in  the  next  few  years. 

'*On  some  of  the  claims  prospected  the  pay  dirt 
is  of  great  extent  and  very  rich.  One  man  told 
me  yesterday  that  he  washed  out  a  single  pan  of 
dirt  on  one  of  the  claims  on  Bonanza  and  found 
$14.25  in  it.  Of  course,  that  maybe  an  excep- 
tionally rich  pan,  but  $5  to  $7  per  pan  is  the 
average  on  that  claim,  it  is  reported,  with  five 
feet  of  pay  dirt  and  the  width  yet  undetermined, 
but  it  is  known  to  be  thirty  feet  even  at  that. 
Figure  the  result  at  nine  or  ten  pans  to  the  cubic 
foot,  and  500  feet  long;  nearly  $4,000,000  at  $5 
per — pan  one-fourth  i)f  thii^  would  be  enormous. 

''Another  claim  has  been  prospected  to  such  an 
iS 


m^^^9^9ama9m 


370 


Golden  Alaska. 


m 


extent  that  it  is  known  there  is  about  five  feet 
pay  dirt  averaging  $2  per  pan,  and  width  not  less 
than  thirty  feet.  Enough  prospecting  has  been 
done  to  show  that  there  are  at  least  fifteen  miles 
of  this  extraordinary  richness,  and  the  indications 
are  that  we  will  have  three  or  four  times  that 
extent,  if  not  all  equal  to  the  above,  at  least  very 
rich. 

"It  appears  a  good  deal  of  staking  for  absentees 
has  been  done,  some  of  whom  have  turned  up 
and  some  have  not.  This  has  caused  confusion, 
and  leads  to  a  good  deal  of  what  might  be  called 
fraud,  for  it  is  easy  for  a  few  in  the  inner  circle 
to  know  what  claims  have  been  recorded  in 
accordance  with  the  law  and  what  have  not. 
They  can  then  for  themselves  directly,  or  through 
the  intervention  of  a  friend,  have  the  latter 
jumped  for  their  whole  or  partial  interest.  It 
appears  this  has  been  done  in  several  instances. 

"I  think  the  department  should  get  large 
posters  printed  on  which  shall  be  shown  the 
sections  of  the  law  governing  the  location  and 
recording  of  quartz  and  placer  mines,  the  extent 
of  each,  the  duties  of  miners  in  both  cases,  and 
the  rulings  of  the  department  on  the  questions  I 
have  submitted,  with  the  penalties  attached  to 
offenses  against  the  law.     Some  of  these  should 


Golden  Alaska. 


271 


be  printed  on  stout  paper  or  parchment  capable 
of  standing  exposure  to  the  weather,  and  posted 
at  every  important  point  in  the  country  so  that 
there  may  be  no  excuse  hereafter  for  ignorance. 

"A  large  number  of  copies  of  the  Mining  Act, 
Land  Act,  and  timber  and  hay  lands  regulations 
should  also  be  sent  in. 

"As  to  the  extent  of  mining  districts,  they 
should,  I  think,  be  made  large,  and  section  21 
amended  to  enable  a  man  who  has  located  a  claim 
which  does  not  pay  a  reasonable  return  on  outlay 
the  first  season  after  his  claim  has  been  pros- 
pected, to  make  a  second  location  in  the  same 
locality  or  district  provided  he  can  find  one  in  it. 
The  agent  would  have  to  determine  whether  or 
not  he  had  expended  the  proper  amount  of  labor 
on  his  claim  to  get  reasonable  returns.  This,  I 
know,  opens  the  door  for  a  lot  of  trouble  and 
may  be  fraud;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  a  great 
many  worthy  men  suffer  from  the  want  of  some 
such  regulation,  and  as  very  few  would  be  in  a 
position  to  take  advantage  of  such  a  provision 
until  after  their  second  season,  there  would 
hardly  be  anything  left  for  them  to  take. 
Enterprising,  industrious  men  who  would  work 
almost  continuously  might  get  some  benefit — 
probably  would — but  no  others,  so  such  a  regfula- 


a'ja 


Golden  Alaska. 


tion  could  not  do  very  much  harm  and  might  help 
some  deserving  people.  As  it  is  now  men  stake 
claims  on  nearly  every  new  find,  some  having 
several  claims  in  the  Thron-Diuck  locality.  Th«y 
know,  I  believe,  that  they  will  not  be  able  to 
hold  them,  but  as  the  localities  are  not  yet  clearly 
defined  they  can  hold  on  to  them  for  a  while,  and 
finally  by  collusion  with  others  acquire  an  interest 
in  them. 

"The  miners  here  are,  I  understand,  getting 
up  a  petition  to  the  Minister  asking  for  aid  in 
opening  a  way  from  the  south  and  building  along 
it  shelter  for  winter  travelers,  with  suitable 
supplies  scattered  along. 

"As  it  is  now  a  winter's  trip  out  from  here  is, 
on  account  of  the  long  haul  and  want  of  shelter, 
tedious  and  hazardous,  and  their  representations 
are  worthy  of  consideration. ' ' 


"CuDAHV,  nth  January,  1897. 

"The  reports  from  the  Thron-Diuck  region  are 
still  very  encouraging,  so  much  so  that  all  the  other 
creeks  around  are  practically  abandoned,  espe- 
cially those  on  the  head  of  Forty  Mile  in 
American  territory,  and  nearly  one  hundred  men 
have  made  their  way  up  from  Circle  City,  many 
of  them  hauling  their  sleds  themselves.     Those 


Golden  Alaska. 


273 


who  cannot  get  claims  are  buying  in  on  those 
already  located.  Men  cannot  be  got  to  work  for 
love  or  money,  and  development  is  consequently 
slow;  $1.50  per  hour  is  wages  paid  the  few  men 
who  have  to  work  for  hire,  and  work  as  many 
hours  as  they  like.  Some  of  the  claims  are  so 
rich  that  every  night  a  few  pans  of  dirt  suffices 
to  pay  the  hired  help  when  there  is  any.  As 
high  as  $204  has  been  reported  to  a  single  pan, 
but  this  is  not  generally  credited  Claim  owners 
are  now  very  reticent  about  what  they  get,  so 
you  can  hardly  credit  anything  you  hear ;  but  one 
thing  is  certain,  we  have  one  of  the  richest  mining 
areas  ever  found,  with  a  fair  prospect  that  we  have 
not  yet  discovered  its  limits. 

"Miller  and  Glacier  creeks,  on  the  head  of 
Sixty  Mile  River,  which  my  survey  of  the  141st 
meridian  determined  to  be  in  Canada,  were 
thought  to  b€5  very  rich,  but  they  are  poor  both 
in  quality  and  quantity  compared  with  Thron- 
Diuck. 

"Chicken  Creek,  on  the  head  of  Forty  Mile,  in 
Alaska,  discovered  a  year  ago  and  rated  very 
high,  is  to-day  practically  abandoned. 

'  'Some  quartz  prospecting  has  been  done  in 


m^^mpmmimHm 


ssa; 


^w 


274 


Golden  Alaska. 


the  Thron-Diuck  region,  and  it  is  probable  that 
some  good  veins  will  be  found  there.  Coal  is 
found  on  the  upper  part  of  Thron-Diuck,  so  that 
the  facilities  for  working  it  if  found  are  good  and 
convenient. " ' 


if 


"CuDAHv,  226.  January,  1897. 

'A  quartz  lode  showing  free  gold  in  paying 
quantities  has  been  located  on  one  of  the  creeks, 
but  I  cannot  yet  send  particulars.  I  am  confident 
from  the  nature  of  the  gold  found  in  the  creeks 
that  many  more  of  them — and  rich,  too— will  be 
found." 


<<4 


♦  41 


'CuDAHV,  ajd  January,  1897. 

'I  have  just  heard  from  a  reliable  source  that 
the  quartz  mentioned  above  is  rich,  as  tested, 
over  $100  to  the  ton.  The  lode  appears  to  run 
from  three  to  eight  feet  in  thickness,  and  is  about 
nineteen  miles  from  the  Yukon  River.  I  will 
likely  be  called  on  to  survey  it,  and  will  be  able 
to  report  fully. 

"Placer  prospects  continue  more  and  more 
encouraging  and  extraordinary.  It  is  beyond 
doubt   that   three  pans  on  different    claims    on 


Golden  Alaska. 


275 


Eldorado  iumed  out  $204,  $212,  and  $216;  but  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  were  only  three 
such  pans,  though  there  are  many  runni'  g  from 
$10  to  $50." 


EXTRACT    FROM    ASSISTANT    SURGEON    A.    E. 
WILLS'  REPORT  FOR  1895. 

"It  may  be  of  interest  to  mention  something 
concerning  the  climate,  mode  of  living  of  the 
people  generally,  and  diseases  met  with. 

"The  climate  is  wet.  The  rainfall  last  summer 
was  heavy.  Although  there  is  almost  a  continuous 
sun  in  summer  time,  evaporation  is  very  slow, 
owing  to  the  thick  mosses  which  will  not  conduct 
the  heat;  in  consequence  the  ground  is  always 
swampy.  It  is  only  after  several  years  of  draining 
that  ground  will  become  sufficiently  dry  to  allow 
the  frost  to  go  out,  and  then  only  for  a  few  feet. 
During  the  winter  months  the  cold  is  intense, 
with  usually  considerable  wind. 

"A  heavy  mist  rising  from  open  places  in  the 
river  settles  down  in  the  valley  in  calm,  extreme 
weather.  This  dampness  makes  the  cold  to  be 
felt  much  more  and  is  conducive  to  rheumatic 
pains,  colds,  etc. 

"Miners  are   a  very  mixed  class  of   people. 


1:. 


^. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


r/j 


1.0 


I.I 


2.2 


1^  li£ 

1^  64 


l£ 


■  40 


zo 
1.8 


1.25   ||U 

^ 

^ 

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► 

^  v^"*:' 

^J" 


PholDgra{iiic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRUT 

WIBSTER.N.Y.  US80 

(716)  172-4303 


V. 


4- 


■v. 


276 


GOi^DEN  Alaska. 


They  represent  many  nationalities,  and  come 
from  all  climates.  Their  lives  are  certainly  not 
enviable.  The  regulation  'miners'  cabin*  is 
twelve  feet  by  fourteen  feet,  with  walls  six  feet 
and  gables  eight  feet  in  height.  The  roof  is 
heavily  earthed,  and  the  cabin  is  generally  very 
warm.  Two,  and  sometimes  three  or  four,  men 
will  occupy  a  house  of  this  size.  The  ventilation 
is  usually  bad.  Those  miners  who  do  not  work 
their  claims  during  the  winter  confine  themselves 
in  these  small  huts  most  of  the  time. 

"Very  often  they  become  indolent  and  care- 
less, only  eating  those  things  which  are  most 
easily  cooked  or  prepared.  During  the  busy 
time,  in  summer,  when  they  are  'shoveling  in,' 
they  work  hard  and  for  long  hours,  sparing  little 
time  for  eating  and  much  less  for  cooking. 

"This  manner  of  living  is  quite  common  among 
beginners,  and  soon  leads  to  debility  and  some- 
times to  scurvy.  Old  miners  have  learned  from 
experience  to  value  health  more  than  gold,  and 
they,  therefore,  spare  no  expense  in  procuring 
the  b^st  and  most  varied  outfit  of  food  that  can 
be  obtained. 

"In  a  cold  climate  such  as  this,  where  it  is  im- 
possible to  get  fresh  vegetables  and  fruits,  it  is 
most  important  that  the  best  substitutes  for  these 


Golden  Alaska. 


277 


should  be  provided.  Nature  helps  to  supply  these 
wants  by  growing  cranberries  and  other  wild 
fruits  in  abundance,  but  men  in  summer  are 
usually  too  busy  to  avail  themselves  of  these. 

"The  diseases  met  with  in  this  country  are 
dyspepsia,  anaemia,  scurvy,  caused  by  improperly 
cooked  food,  sameness  of  diet,  overwork,  want  ot 
fresh  vegetables,  overheated  and  badly  ventilated 
houses;  rheumatism,  pneumonia,  bronchitis, 
enteritis,  cystis,  and  other  acute  diseases,  from 
exposure  to  wet  and  cold;  debility  and  chronic 
diseases,  due  to  excesses.  Venereal  diseases  are  not 
uncommon.  One  case  of  typhoid  fever  occurred 
at  Forty  Mile  last  fall,  probably  due  to  drinking 
water  polluted  with  decayed  vegetable  matter. 

"In  selecting  men  to  relieve  in  this  country  I  beg 
to  submit  a  few  remarks,  some  of  which  will  be 
of  assistance  to  the  medical  examiners  in  making 
their  recommendations. 

"Men  should  be  sober,  strong,  and  healthy. 
They  should  be  practical  men,  able  to  adapt 
themselves  quickly  to  their  surroundings.  Special 
care  should  be  taken  to  see  that  their  lungs  are 
sound,  that  they  are  free  from  rheumatism  and 
rheumatic  tendency,  and  that  their  joints, 
especially  knee  joints,  are  strong,  and  have  never 
been  weakened  by  injury,    synovitis,   or    other 


"  f     '  T'wW 


mifm 


I    i 


It 


278 


Golden  Alaska. 


disease.  It  is  also  very  important  to  consider 
their  temperaments.  Men  should  be  of  cheerful, 
hopeful  dispositions,  and  willing  workers.  Those 
of  sullen,  morose  natures,  although  they  may  be 
good  workers,  are  very  apt,  as  soon  as  the  novelty 
of  the  country  wears  off,  to  become  dissatisfied, 
pessimistic,  and  melancholy. 


-*^  fi^^,^Sf>^r^^ 


I^T 


W^i^^- 


^n 


'  if 


er 

se 
be 

ty 

id, 


I*jnmeifter,'0<B. 

BMaler,'Q-9. 
Htwkin,  B<tf. 

.'  HtncbinlniNdc  B4. 
Igltfcin,  A-10. 
Jacob.  C-4. 
Eadiak,  Q>ft. 
|agaliuda(,A.10. 

KaiMga,  A>9. 
KatoS^ilk,  C4. 
Ka«alg»,A«. 
Kayak,  Cr7. 
KhoiiaiAlMfl,04l. 
KlMMidoakiwk  04. 

miSa«A4. 
Klakd«ric.C^ 
KiiigEiirB4. 
Korovia,  C-4. 
Kuia,  C-9. 
Knpreanof ,  04. 
Little  Diomed«L  A-*. 
LUae  KoniniiS,  04. 
Uttie  Sitldio,  A4. 

Sl3itoi^4. 
tkof,  C4. 
Ititrofiuiia,04. 
Montage,  0-6. 
Nocai  C-4. 
NaEchamik,  04. 
Near,  A4. 
Nelson,  B4. 
North,  D4. 
Nnnivak,  B-2. 
Okolnoi,  C4. 
Otter,  C-2.    J 


SlmeSSiO-l.      ^    ■ 
8itkau92L04. 
Sitkinak,  04. 
81«!ee,B-2. 
8ontn,C4. 
ftMmce,  04. 
ft.  Chiorge,  04.  . 
St.  Lawrence,  "M.  . 
St.Hatthew,  B-l. 
St  Michael,  B4. 
St.  Paul,  C-2. 
Stephens,  D-9. 
Stnart,  B4. 
Snt^ik,  04. 
Tagatakh,  A-10. 
3!iii^nkA4. 

.  D4. 

Ii.*C4. 
0  6. 
trnmoklD'S. 
urak,A4. 
Ullag»,A-«. 
nmaa.]>4.  ^ 

Umnidc,  A-ll.  ,^     <^> 

Unfinak,  114. 
tfshngatJ04. 
Walros,  04.^ 
Wooded  Ish  04i 
WoMneaawiakli^m. 
Wnuigdlt.0-9. 

?rr|gh»iii,IK. 
akobl,  iM. 
Yonaska,  A-tO. 
Zaiembo,  0-9. 
Zajas,  D4. 


Lakes. 


TKSr 


Aleknagik,  G4. 
Becharof ,  0-4. 


iSSt155.04^ 

^uul«rT,A>7. 
BfRbiiii  a4. 

DevlaiikmPMk,A4. 
I>«vils,A4. 
.  FOnr  Peaked.  04. 
Franklin,  A4. 
Gold,A-5. 
Iliamna  Peak,  B4. 
Jade,  A4. 
Kaynb,  B4. 
Uonduad,  04. 
LowiBi  Raniparts,  A4. 
Mikiilhiii,  I>4. 
Mttes  Glad*.  B-7. 
Mt.  Becharof,  0-4. 
Mt.  BendeMlWQi  A4. 
Mt.  Blaokbarti,  B.7. 
Mt.  Chktteaar,  04. 
Mt.  Crinen,l>«. 
Mt  Dmm,  B4. 
Mt  Edgeconibe,  04.    ^^ 
Mt  Fawweather,  04« 
Mt.  Oreenoogh,  A-7. 
Mt  Hononita,  B4. 
Mt.  KellT.  44. 
Mt  Kimball,  B-r 
Mt.  Lttuya,  C4. 
Mt  Olai.  0-4. 
Ht  Suiiord,  B-7. 
MtTiUiDaii.B-7. 

81  Wraagd,  B-7. 
olgfave  Hfup,  A4. 
Palisades,  A4. 
PavkxS  Volcaao,  0-8. 
ProgttHnnia  Volcano,  1)4 
BanqMurt  A4. 
Ratsel,  A-7. 
Bed,A4. 

Bedonbt  Volcano,  B4. 
ShiAaldin  Voicano.  04. 
Snow>,A-S. 
Spttit,  B7. 


S! 

G« 

m 

Hi 
Ik 

s 
?« 

Kc 
Ki 
Ki 
Ki 


Ki 
Ki 
K< 
Ki 

K 
E 
K 
■K 
K 
K 
K 


m  MkMl 


St'i 


^Jh^AS^S^iW;-,^ 


MmMHiMM 


-asT- 


"W 


.r.*|...  .^'imti»J'-'*^l^-»-'*-'(*0 


.■  *M*««»*''l*il**W«*«W*«»««« 


OS 


Districts. 

Pop. 
Fliat,  or   SoBtheutern 

district 8,018 

Beoond,  or  K«dUk  dk- 

1       trict 6,tl8 

iThifd,  or  UiulukA  dla- 

telct 8,861 

omth,    or    Nnaburak 

Uatrtct 9,786 

or   Klukokwim 

totet 6,4»« 

.orTokondlstrlet  8,012 
nth,  or  Aretfe  dis- 
trict     8,989 

Total 81,796 

Capes 
and  Points. 

Idingtao,  C-9. 
Utidi^CMS. 

Iior,  c-e. 

detT,  A-6. 

•   ,  C«. 
bM.C-«. 
r,  A-4. 

olome,CS-9. 

Mr,  ▲■«. 

ehey,  A-9. 

am,  A-S. 

.3-5. 
ak,  B-1. 

'c-«. 

Ml^fc.A-8. 
MJBtantine,0-<. 

hSkc-e. 

llKtO-5.  .. 

B-8.  ^ 

py.B4- 

feU: 

|la8,(M(. 

,  A-9. 

,B-8. 

ird,C-8. 
Ibetb,  0-5. 

De,C-4. 

Dbero.  A-8. 

_ieather,  0-8. 

fl^,  OA. 

din,  A-8. 

tap,  04. 

ille,04. 


ALASK 

Districts,  Capes  and  Points,  Islands,  Lakei 


Cc^Mt  ana  PoMt—eoHtUinud. 

Oriffln,  A-7. 

Gairou,  B-6. 

Balkett,  A-5. 

Harbor,  0-9. 

Hlncliinbrooli,  0-6. 

Hope,  A-8. 

Icy,  A-3. 

Icy,  0-8. 


Igvak,  C-4. 
llu,  r 


C-4. 
Ikolik,  C-6. 
Kahurnoi,  0-8. 
Kanaralc,  0-4. 
Karlnk.  C-6. 
Kayakllnt,  0-4. 
Kbltnk.  D4.  , 

Kapreanof,0-4. 
Lapln,  D-8. 
Lay,  A-8. 
Lasarefl,D-S. 
Leontoftob,  C-S. 
Lewis,  A-9. 
Lisbnme,  A-9. 
Low,  C-6. 
Lowenstem,  A-& 
Lntke,  D-S. 
Manbr,  0-7. 


Captt  andPoinU—eoiUinutd. 

Steep,  C-S. 

Strogonof,  0-4. 

Suckling,  0-7. 

Tangent,  A-6. 

Tbompson,  A-2. 

Tolstoi,  B-8. 

Tonki,  0-6. 

Trinity,  0-6. 

Two  Headed,  0-6. 

Ugat,  C-6. 

Unalifbagvak,  0-4. 

Uyak,C^ 

Vanconver,  B-9. 

West,  B-1. 

Taktag,  0-7. 


JS._^i  %■».,««(•—. 


Islands. 


Manning,  A-7. 
Martin,  A-7. 
Martin,  0-6. 
MeDChlkof.0-4. 
Miuon,  D-9. 
Narrow,  04. 
Mewenham,  04. 
Nome,  B-8. 
Ocean,  0-7. 
OminaneT,04. 
Pankoit,D-8. 
Feirce,  04. 
Pellew,  B-O. 
PUIar,04. 
Pitt,A.6. 

Prince  of  Wales,  A4. 
ProTideaoe,  04. 
Paget,  0-6. 
RetnrrecUon,  04. 
Rodlmoir,  04. 
Bodney,  B-9. 
Romanof,B4L 
Boittaaaof^B4. 
Saritchey,D4. 
Seniavin,  04. 
Seppinge,  A4. 
Sitlugn  0-7. 
Smith,  B-9. 
Spencer,  A4. 
Spencer,  OC. 
8t.  AngnstiiM,  D-9. 
St  BUas,  C-7. 
St.  Bermogenea,  0-6. 


Adakh,  A-10. 
Admiralty,  04. 
Afosnar,C4. 
Agmnn,A4. 

Akutan,l>4 
Aleutian,  A4. 
Asiak,0-8. 
Amao«,D-8. 
Amatignak,  A-t. 
AaataU,0-5. 
Amcbltlia,  A-9. 
Amlia,A-10. 
Amnkta,  A-IC. 
Andrsanof,  A-10. 
Andronica,  04. 
Annete,  D-9. 
Anowtic,  04, 
Atka.A-10. 
A5iMik,0-4. 
Attn,  A4. 
Augustine,  04. 
Avantanak,  D4. 
Ban,  0-6.    ■ 
Baranof ,  0-9. 
Barren,  04. 
Barter,  A-7. 
Beelwro,  B4. 
Big  Uiomede,  A-S. 
Big  Konlosht.  04. 

Btoriia,  A-11. 
Buldir,A4. 
Ohankliat,  04. 
Chemabnra,  D4. 
Chemoboor,  D-8. 
Chiacbi,04. 
Ohlcbagol,  0-8. 
Chirikof,  C4. 
Ohiswell,  0-6. 


lilandt—totitinutd. 
Ohowiet,  04. 
Chugatsi  04. 
Ohuglnadak,  A-10. 
Ohugul,  A-10. 
Coronation,  04. 
Dall,  D-0. 
Deer,  D4. 
Dolgoi,  04. 
Douglas,  04. 
Duke,  D-0. 
Dandiu,  D-9. 
i:gg.B4. 
Kfolln,  0-9. 
Flazman,  A-8. 
Forrester,  04> 
Oarel<^A-«. 
iesO*t-t- 


Oteat  SItkin,  A-10. 
Green,  B4. 
Bagemeiater,  04. 
Ban.  1-1. 
Baasler,  0-9. 
Bawkln,  B4. 
Basy,  04. 
HInchinbroAk,  B4. 
Igitkin,  A-10. 
Jacob,  04. 
Kadiak,  04. 
Kagalaska,  A-W. 
Kagamil,  A-tl. 
KaIgin,B4 
KaiMga,  A4. 
Kateekliiik,  0-4. 
KaMga,  A.9. 
Kayak,  0-7. 
Khoudiakofl.  04. 
Khondoubina,  0-S, 
-     ■  "i>,AJl. 


Kigali^i 


lEiskii,A4. 
Kiukdaal^04. 
Knights,  B4. 
KoroTin,  04. 
Kuia,  0-9. 
Knpreanof,  04. 
Utfie  Diomsde,  A-1. 
Littie  Kootaati,  04. 
UtUe  Sitkin,  A4. 


Marmot,  0-6. 
Mlddletoii,0.( 
Mitkof,  C4. 


MitrotanU,0-4. 
Montagu,  0-6. 
Nagai,  0-4. 
Nakchamik,  0-4. 
Near,  A4. 
Nelson,B4. 
North,  D-9. 
Nanivalc,  B4. 
Okolnoi,  0-8. 
Otter,  C-8. 


Itlandt—eotUittutd. 

Paul,  04. 
Pinnacle,  B-1. 
Pribilof,  0-8. 
Prince  of  Wales,  04. 
Punnk,  B-3. 
Pye,  C-5. 
Bat.  A-9. 

RevillaKigedo,  04. 
Sand,  B-8. 
Sannak.D-8. 
Seal,  04. 
Segnam,  A-10. 
Semichl,  A-8. 
Semidi,  04. 
Semisopoclinoi,  A4. 
Shnmagla,  04. , 
>-«MyMScMb«"' 
Simeonor,  D4. 
SiM(alid^04. 
SititinakTCA. 
Sledge,  B-8. 
Sonth,  04. 
Spruce,  04. 
tt.  George,  0-8.  . 
St. Uiwrence,B-9.  . 
St.  Matthew,  B-1. 
St  Michael,  B4. 
St  Paul,  C-8. 
Stephens,  D-9. 
Stuart  B4. 
Sotwlk,  04. 
Tagalakh,  A-10. 
Itaaga,  A-9. 
Tlgalda,D-S. 
Trinity  Is.,  04. 
Tngidak,C-n. 
l^moklD-9. 
urak,A4. 
Ullage,  All. 
Umga.D-8. 
Umnak,  A-11. 
Unalaska,  D4. 
Unavlkshak,  04. 
Unga,0-S. 
Unfmak,  D-S. 
Uehugat,04. 
Walros,  0-9. 
Wooded  Is.,  C-8. 
Wossneasenski,  04. 
Wrangdl,  04. 
Wrigham,  0-7. 
Takobiro4. 
TunasKK,  A-lO. 
Zaiembo,  0-9. 
Zayas,  D-9. 


Laiies. 

Aleknagik,  04. 
Becbarof,  0-4. 


*M«ney  Order  Ofioes.      ^PsstoaossMttosalsdoBMap. 


.ieiw»iw"iiuiiiiiit<imi»ii\'iiiwti»iwwiiwii»««Waiwirtip^ 


«««  vn-nav^sw^iXxeii^iisKWi 


it«'..-»*H#<*',  ■■♦.•■I. 


ALASKA. 

iands,  Lakes,  Mountains,  Rivers,  and  Towns. 


Island*— continued. 
Paul,  C-4. 
Pinnacle,  B-1. 
Frlbllof,  C.8. 
Prince  of  Walei,  C-9. 
Pnnnk,  B-3. 
Pye,  0-5. 
Bat,  A-9. 

RevlllaKlgedo,  C4. 
Sand,  B-£ 
Sannak.  V-t. 
Seal,  0-4. 
Segnan,  A-10. 
Semichl,  A*. 
SemidI,  C-4. 
Semiaopocluu^  A-S. 

Simeonof,  D-t. 
SitkaUdak,0«. 
SitklnakTc-S. 
Sledge,  B-i, 
Soutb,  C-4. 
Spnce,  C-S. 
K.  George,  C-S.  . 
St  Lawrence,  B-1  . 
8t.  Matthew,  B-1. 
St  Michael,  B4. 
St  PanI,  C-e. 
Stephena,  D-0. 
Stnart  B-S. 
Sntwik,  C-4. 
Tagalakh,  A-10. 
Itaaga,  A-9. 
TlnUaa,D-S. 
TriBltr  la.,  C-S. 
TDgldiik,  C-N 

urak,A4>. 
UUaga,  All. 

UwSc,  A-11. 
Unalaaka,  D4. 
Unavlkahak,  04. 
Ciiga,0-S. 
nnlmak,  IM. 
Uahngat  04. 
WalroR,  C-«. 
Wooded  la.,  04. 
Woaaneaaenaki,  04. 
Wrangdl,  04. 
Wrigbam,0^. 

Tanaau,  A-lO. 
Zaiembo,  C-0. 
Zayaa,  D-0. 


Lakes. 

Aleknagik,C4. 
Becharof ,  C-4. 


LakM—«oiMnu«t. 
Illamna,  C4. 
Imnruk,  B-S. 
MentMta,  B-7. 
Naknek,  C-4. 
Noahagak,  B-4. 
Rat,A^. 
Selawlk,  A4. 
Sklllokh,  B4. 
Taaekpuk,  A4. 
Tnitnmena,  B-S. 
Walker,  A4. 

Mountains. 

Aghlleen  Pinnacle,  0-8. 

Black  Peak,  C-1* 

Bonndary,  A-7. 
'  Britiah,  A-7. 
'  CathnI,  A-7. 

Deviation  Peak,  A4. 

Devili,  A4. 

Fonr  Peaked,  04. 

Franklin,  A-«. 

Gold,  A-5. 

Iliamna  realc,  B4. 

Jade,  A-4. 

Kaynb,  B-4. 

Lionahead,  04. 

Lower  Ramparta,  A4. 

Maknahin,  D4. 

MUea  Glacier,  B-7. 

Mt.  Becharof,  0-4. 

Mt.  Bendeiebeo,  A-S. 

Mt  Blaokbnm,  B-7. 

Mt  Chlgiiiagar,  04. 

Mt  CrlITon,734. 

Mt  Dram,  B4. 

Mt  Edgecnmbe,  04. 

Mt  FaGweather,  04. 

Mt  Oreenongh.  A-7. 

Mt  HononiU,  B4. 

Mt.  Kellv.  A-3. 

Mt  KimlMll.  B-T. 

Mt  Utuya,  C4. 

Mt  Olai.  C-4. 

Mt  Sanford.  B-7. 

Mt  Tillman,  B-7. 

Mt  Wransel,  B-7. 

MalgnTeHlup,  A-9. 

Paliaadea.  A-S. 

PavloH  Volcaao,  OS. 

Progronmia  Volcano,  04. 

Rampart,  A4. 

Ratael,  A-7. 

Red,  A4. 

Redonbt  Volcano,  B4. 

Shiahaldln  Volcano^  C4. 

Snow,  A-S. 

Spirit,  B-7. 


Vountaint—tonUiuied. 
TananaHilla.  A4. 
ViBTidolI  Vokano.  A-U. 
Yukon  BlllB,  A-4. 

RIversr 

Alleokakat,  A4. 
AmblerLA-4. 
AnTlk,B4. 
AzoOB,  B-S. 
Bacaakakat,  A-S. 
tils  Black,  A-7. 
Black,  B-S. 
Bradley,  B4. 
Brenner,  B4. 
A4. 


li  iven—tontinrted. 
Kowak,  A-4. 
Koyok,  A4. 
Koyakuk,  A-6. 
Koahroo,  A-4. 
Kngnklik,  04. 
Knkpowruk,  A-8. 
Knlichavak,  B-8. 
Knakokwlm,  B4. 
KTlekak,  0-4. 
UaMgritag'a,  B4. 
lAMoaSik,  A-7. 
LpvaiM,B>6w 
MatoUnak,  B4. 
Meade,  A-4. 
Meloalkakat,  A4. 


•  * 


Y^jSmS^-^ii 


ftyaume,  B-7. 
ilftna,  B-4. 
ille,  AS. 
r,B4. 
,  A-4.      k 
dikakat,  A4, 
A4. 
B4. 

at,A4 

,A4. 

,  A-3. 

F(wty-Diile,  B-7. 
Gttona,B4. 
Geiade,  B4. 
QoMpaater,  B4. 
Hittncbatna  A-4. 
Hintiakatna,  A-4. 
IkidkpQng,  A-6. 
I^izalik,A-4. 
Iimoko,  B-4. 
Ippewlk,  A4. 
Jolinaon,  B4. 
Kakna,B4. 
Kilncna,  B-7. 
Kandlk,  A-7. 
Kirluk,  04. 
Kla)»>>ul^.B4. 
KiMilorrB4 
K&viavaaak,  A-S. 
Kiyiih,  B-4. , 
Kevwieek,  A4. 
Ktnak,  B-8. . 
Kjanareharnt,  A-C 
datena,B4. 
Klatsatakakat  34 
Klawasina,  B4. 
Knik,  B4. 
Koo,  A-4. 
Kookpnk,  1-8. 


'f^-r 


.»Jb^«fM4M« 


,B4. 
i-7. 

Salawik,  A-4. 
Slana,  B4. 
Soonkakat  B-4. 
Stikioe,  C-9. 
Sncker,  A-7. 
Snabitna,  B-S. 
Taclat  B-6. 
Tahkandik,  A-7. 
Tanana,  B-6. 
Taanioio,  B4. 
TatotUnda,  B-7. 
'ntBliBa,B4. 
1^11^51,84. 
Traodee,A-7. 
Tokal,B-7. 
Tovikakat,  A-S. 
Ugagnk,  C-4. 

ipiabJk,  04.  r' 

uSalakllk,B4. 
VolkmarrB4. 
White,  B-7. 
Whymper,  A-S. 
Woliek,  A4. 
TnkoD,  B-3. 

Towns.    Pop. 

Afognak,  C-S 100 

Alaganik,B4 48 

Anagnak,  C4 

Anvlk,  B-8 191 

Attanak,  A4 

Attenmut,  A4 

Belkoffdd,  D4. 166 

Bellelale,  B4 

Cape  Sabine,  A4 

Chfikat  C-8 168 


<' 


J^utu— continued . 

I>onglaa,0-9 

Jtyeal 

Ugowlk,B-8. 

Ptort  Alexander,  04 , 

Fort  Andieafakl,  B4 '10 

Fort  Cndaby  I B4. 

Fort  Get  l^are,  B4. . . 

FortHealy,  B-S 

Fort  KawU,  B-S 

Fort  m.  Michaela,  B4. ...  101 

Plort  Waare,  A-7 

FortWraagel,  04  * SIS 

Ia«ik,C4 Too 

lEogmnt  Miaeion,  B4 140 

loiaSly,  A-2 

Jackeon.  D-» JOS 

' lUmimif  OP  *.. -. r.t -Vr.— JMM • 

J  ^iJgnyttk,  C-6 lU 

Kartlg,B-4 

Karlnk,  C-5 U>3 

Katnlai,04 

Ketchikan,  0-9 .....< 

KUIlanoo,  C-9 . . .   .,79 

Kipmak,  B4 

Klawock,  C-9 107 

Kodlak,  C-5  * j  496 

Koff|dang,  04 J  188 

Leather  Village,  B4 . 

LorlnB,C-9 UBO 

Mary  Island,  D-9 

Metlakabtlat k 

Iltctaell,A-6 .ins 

Morabovoi,  D-S. -88 

Nig-a.lek,A4 

J«ikol8kl,  A-11 

^nlato,  B4 118 

Noebagak,  C4 IMS 

Old  MorahOToi,  C4. 

Orca,B4 

Oanalaska,  A-11 

Paatolik,  B-8 jllS 

Redonbt  Kolmakoif,  B4    > 

Sandpoint,  C-3 

Seward,  C-5 

Shagelak,  B4 , 

Shakan.  C-9 J-.-'m 

Sbaktolik,  B4 ....i* 

Sitka,  C-8  ♦ 1190 

St  Orlovsk,  C-6 

8ntkum,C4 

.Snworof,  C4 

Takn,C-9 

Tlkchik,  B-4 1 

Ukak,C-4 J! 

Onalaklik,  B-3 J  17B 

Unalaaka,  D-S B17 

Unga,C4 ISO 

Village,  C4 U' 

Wrangel,  C4 

Yakltat,  0-*..: 

Addenda,  r 

rtp. 

Weare,  B5     

Circle  City,B7 

Dawson,  B7 

Klondyke  River.  B  8 

Klondyko  District  £''  ...^ 
Dyes,  0  8    


-»*wa«M^»»«J«^B»!^^K»«4<«^«>,•«KtJi 


mil.-  •teiMrmMnsm 


mm 


I- 

I 


►.»*. 


&A*^ 


\?* 

ink,©*. 
mutmttk.  Aft. 


|fek» 


mSuSlIm, 


JCTft' 


M. 

B4 


^'4-*,'. 


■;> 


•      -  ■;•••  ■      -•■-   ■!»  -•      .. 

1    immmmrwm^^ >  '"*  ■'  " 

.A* 
>ln«,  A-7. 

»n.  A-7. 
8riAwUc,A:4. 
81aiw3U. 
8oonkaluit.B4. 
8tikine,C-». 
Sncker,  A-7. 
SlwtaitD%  B-Ci 
TactatTB-S. 

T«tJuu>dtk,A-7.  . 

TuiUM,  B4.  < 

TvAilolo.  B-t. 
TfttfMJta|i^B-7. 

.A^7. 
T^vtMmLA-ft. 

ufiSaUflLBU. 
V^lonirTB-s. 
Wlate^B.7. 
Wlmntier,  A-O.       , 

Talon,  B-8.         ^ 

^»-^"        Towns*    iJp. 

AfogDak,0« MB 

AlMaiiik,B4 48 

An2mi^C-4 

Anv1k,B-8 181 

Attaaak,  A-4 

Att6nmat,A4 

Belkoffdd,  O^ ^.•'  Itt 

BeH«!sIe,B4. 

Cute  Sabine,  A-9 

C^ikat,  C-8....> 158 

^u 


t^ 


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-- 1 


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lyNk,  C-5 . 
^  .  Is,  BHt. . 
larlA,  C-S. 
1, 04. 
■rnehlkan,  0-9 . 
Klllianoo,  &9 . 
Kipmak,  B4. 

KlawoekJ^9 L.J^ 

KodlakTC-S  <■ .<.... HM6 

Leather  Village,  BA.L..7i 

Lorins,  C-9 

lfU7lIiland,D-9. 

Metlakahtlat ., 

Mltehell,  A-e y...4i 

,rakoiakl,  A-ll....: « 

*M%Iato,  B-4...... 118 

Koahafak,  Q4^. 1108 

Old  MoiahoTOl,  0-8. . .  . .  .j ,.' 

Orca,  B-6. j  i 

Oanalaska,  A-11 , 

P»atollk,B-8 .....jll8 

Bedoobt  Kolmakoff,  B-4 .  | 

Bandpoint,  C-8 ; . .  ~  1 

Seward, C-6 :  •' 

Shamlitt;  B-8 

Sbakan,\C-9 

Shaktolik,  B^ .'...i- 

Sitka,  C-8* .....I!l90 

St  Orlovak,  0-6 

Satkam.04....  .| 

Saworof,(M ...j ' 

Tako,C-9.. 

Tikchik,  B4 j 

Dkak,C-4.. ............. J 

UnalaUlk,  B-8 ...4  175 

Unalaaka,D-8 ...4  817 

Unga,04-  1150 

Vlin3«rC^^      I*' 

wnuifle],  C"9.  ••>•...,. ..^ 
Takitat,  C-8.. :..:...  J. ..|f 


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Addenda. 


Weare,  B  5  ... 
Circle  City,  B  7. 
Dawson,  6  7. 


&. 


Klondyke  River,  B  8. . . . . : , 
Klondyke  District,  BjB  ...J 
Dyea,  C8    \'.:.M 


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vViTiitfiiVitiftfli'it-ri'-r    — 

From  MIDLAND  LAKES 


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Pacific  Coast  Trains  of  the  Great  Northern  Railway. 

Library  -  Observation  Car  Route 

HOgjSAV     MINNEAPOLIS.     Nogjgl/S/ 
V    PACIFIC  COAST 

Veatibuled  Trains  with  Family  Tourist  and  Palaoe  Sleepers.  Dining  Cart, 
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For  printed  matter  and  information  about  rates  write  to 

F.  I.  WHITNEY,  Q.  P.  AND  T.  A..  ST.  PAUL,  MINN. 


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CSTAB4.ISHED   1640. 


5 


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Especially  Adapted  to  Miners'  and 
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